This Little Baby Elephant is Only a Few Hours Old, But He Already Has Everything He Needs (PHOTO)

Elephants are known for their ability to form strong bonds to their family members. Many of us have seen the iconic, and heart wrenching, images of these beautiful creatures grieving over the bones of their dead herd members and mourning the loss of their loved ones. Obviously, these incredibly intelligent animals belong in the wild and deserve to be free.

Elephants are also known to share joyful moments with one another. One of the most amazing being, instances of these animals greeting their loved ones including welcoming new babies to the herd including the image below.

This sweet little baby elephant is only just a few hours old, but as you can see from this photo he already has everything he needs — his family.

This moment is something that all elephants deserve, unfortunately, because of human actions many never get to experience this sort of happiness.  Rather than getting to live out their lives in the wild, Asian elephants are sold into the tourism industry and circuses, while African elephants are poached for their ivory.

Baby elephants are known to stay with their mother for up to 15-years after being born, but because of our actions, too many babies are either orphaned and left to fend for themselves in the wild or captured and put on display for our entertainment. This is a far cry from the life the elephant above will get to live – and it’s all because of us.

Thankfully, things are beginning to change as people recognize the grave position that elephants are facing. As a result of our own greed, this species is predicted to be extinct within the next two decades if we don’t make a change. However, there is hope, and it comes from organizations like The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. This amazing group is working to rescue and rehabilitate elephants so that they can grow up and return to the wild. The photo above is the ultimate happy ending David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust hopes to make possible for all the animals in their care.

We can all take a stand for elephants by boycotting circuses and zoos that hold them captive. Share this post and help raise awareness for the plight of elephants.

Image source: David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust/Facebook