A baby elephant without a trunk has been spotted in South Africa's Kruger National Park and conservationists fear for its long-term survival.
Elephants are known for their distinctive trunks: multi-functional prehensile appendages that are essential for feeding and drinking. Predators – lions and crocodiles, for the most part – will often grab an elephant's trunk when attacking.
While it's thought this particular baby elephant lost most of its trunk after being assaulted by lions, it also could have suffered the injury after getting its trunk caught in a poacher's snare.
While the young pre-tusker highlighted in this video from SunDestinations seems healthy (otherwise from the obvious), the loss of its trunk does not bode well for its survival over the long term.
An average adult elephant will eat between 200 to 600 pounds of food and drink up to 50 gallons of water daily. This youngster requires far less sustenance and it's being helped by its herd – things will change as it grows, IF it grows. (via TERT)
