On 22 December, Angela Sheldrick received a report from Lamu from Fuzz Dyer regarding an orphaned hippo that required saving, and plans were put in place to conduct this rescue the following day together with KWS Veterinary officer, Dr
The tiny hippo calf had been first observed from the air stuck in a drying pond within the large remote Kiunga Forest, situated between the ancient port of Lamu and the border with Somalia along the north coast of Kenya. The baby hippo had been observed for a few days to ascertain that it was, in fact, an orphan.
It was quite obviously bogged in mud and was surrounded by flapping catfish in the drying mud hole and it was evident that without intervention, it was going to die. Given the remoteness and inaccessibility of the area, rescuing this baby certainly presented a challenge, and required additional input from others besides Fuzz Dyer, particularly that of Andrew Francombe and his helicopter who thankfully was in the area at the time.
At this point the whole operation became even more challenging since the baby hippo had to be parcelled up and slung from beneath the Helicopter for the short ten-minute flight, there being insufficient space in the aircraft to accommodate it.
Thankfully however, by this time, the tranquilizer was taking effect and so, secured to the skids of the Helicopter, the hippo calf was airlifted and flown to the airstrip, landing very gently in order not to damage the calf.