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Orphaned pygmy elephant on the road to recovery after mother's tragic death

  • Keeper Augustin David, 29, keeps to a gruelling schedule ensuring Joe's survival. He feeds the elephant milk every two hours - even during nighttime (Andrew Chant/Rex Features)
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    Keeper Augustin David, 29, keeps to a gruelling schedule ensuring Joe's survival. He feeds the elephant milk every two hours - even during nighttime (Andrew Chant/Rex Features)

    Keeper Augustin David, 29, keeps to a gruelling schedule ensuring Joe's survival. He feeds the elephant milk every two hours - even during nighttime (Andrew Chant/Rex Features)
  • Baby Joe rests at his 'surrogate mother's' feet. Like a human baby, the elephant loves to suckle people's thumbs (Andrew Chant/Rex Features)
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    Baby Joe rests at his 'surrogate mother's' feet. Like a human baby, the elephant loves to suckle people's thumbs (Andrew Chant/Rex Features)

    Baby Joe rests at his 'surrogate mother's' feet. Like a human baby, the elephant loves to suckle people's thumbs (Andrew Chant/Rex Features)
  • Joe the elephant and Augustin, his keeper, have bonded since his mother's death. Augustin said: "The early signs are good - he's active, playful and quite naughty." (Andrew Chant/Rex Features)
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    Joe the elephant and Augustin, his keeper, have bonded since his mother's death. Augustin said: "The early signs are good - he's active, playful and quite naughty." (Andrew Chant/Rex Features)

    Joe the elephant and Augustin, his keeper, have bonded since his mother's death. Augustin said: "The early signs are good - he's active, playful and quite naughty." (Andrew Chant/Rex Features)
  • Joe the elephant doesn't like showers and has to be washed in his pen. There are an estimated 1,500 pygmy elephants in the world (Andrew Chant/Rex Features)
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    Joe the elephant doesn't like showers and has to be washed in his pen. There are an estimated 1,500 pygmy elephants in the world (Andrew Chant/Rex Features)

    Joe the elephant doesn't like showers and has to be washed in his pen. There are an estimated 1,500 pygmy elephants in the world (Andrew Chant/Rex Features)
  • The death of Joe's mother, due to a mysterious spell of poisoning in the Malaysian rainforest, hit the young orphan hard. In the aftermath of the tragedy the calf lost weight and it was feared he would not survive (Andrew Chant/Rex Features)
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    The death of Joe's mother, due to a mysterious spell of poisoning in the Malaysian rainforest, hit the young orphan hard. In the aftermath of the tragedy the calf lost weight and it was feared he would not survive (Andrew Chant/Rex Features)

    The death of Joe's mother, due to a mysterious spell of poisoning in the Malaysian rainforest, hit the young orphan hard. In the aftermath of the tragedy the calf lost weight and it was feared he would not survive (Andrew Chant/Rex Features)
  • The bond between the baby elephant and his keeper has grown to be strong. The young orphaned calf loves Augustin's attention and if he doesn't get it he kicks him in the legs or lightly rubs against him (Andrew Chant/Rex Features)
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    The bond between the baby elephant and his keeper has grown to be strong. The young orphaned calf loves Augustin's attention and if he doesn't get it he kicks him in the legs or lightly rubs against him (Andrew Chant/Rex Features)

    The bond between the baby elephant and his keeper has grown to be strong. The young orphaned calf loves Augustin's attention and if he doesn't get it he kicks him in the legs or lightly rubs against him (Andrew Chant/Rex Features)
  • The image of the young calf trying to wake his lifeless mother made headlines around the world. A total of 14 elephants have died as a result of the poisoning. It is not known what was the cause of the tragedy (Andrew Chant/Rex Features)
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    The image of the young calf trying to wake his lifeless mother made headlines around the world. A total of 14 elephants have died as a result of the poisoning. It is not known what was the cause of the tragedy (Andrew Chant/Rex Features)

    The image of the young calf trying to wake his lifeless mother made headlines around the world. A total of 14 elephants have died as a result of the poisoning. It is not known what was the cause of the tragedy (Andrew Chant/Rex Features)
  • Joe the elephant and Dr Diana Ramirez at the the Lok Kawi zoo near Kota Kinabalu. Dr Ramirez said: "It's too soon to be sure that Joe will survive. Sometimes baby elephants can look OK but then still die suddenly. They are very prone to colic and it can be fatal very quickly. Once he's past six or seven months then we can be more confident that he'll survive." (Andrew Chant/Rex Features)
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    Joe the elephant and Dr Diana Ramirez at the the Lok Kawi zoo near Kota Kinabalu. Dr Ramirez said: "It's too soon to be sure that Joe will survive. Sometimes baby elephants can look OK but then still die suddenly. They are very prone to colic and it can be fatal very quickly. Once he's past six or seven months then we can be more confident that he'll survive." (Andrew Chant/Rex Features)

    Joe the elephant and Dr Diana Ramirez at the the Lok Kawi zoo near Kota Kinabalu. Dr Ramirez said: "It's too soon to be sure that Joe will survive. Sometimes baby elephants can look OK but then still die suddenly. They are very prone to colic and it can be fatal very quickly. Once he's past six or seven months then we can be more confident that he'll survive." (Andrew Chant/Rex Features)
Keeper Augustin David, 29, keeps to a gruelling schedule ensuring Joe's survival. He feeds the elephant milk every two hours - even during nighttime (Andrew Chant/Rex Features)
Baby Joe rests at his 'surrogate mother's' feet. Like a human baby, the elephant loves to suckle people's thumbs (Andrew Chant/Rex Features)
Joe the elephant and Augustin, his keeper, have bonded since his mother's death. Augustin said: "The early signs are good - he's active, playful and quite naughty." (Andrew Chant/Rex Features)
Joe the elephant doesn't like showers and has to be washed in his pen. There are an estimated 1,500 pygmy elephants in the world (Andrew Chant/Rex Features)
The death of Joe's mother, due to a mysterious spell of poisoning in the Malaysian rainforest, hit the young orphan hard. In the aftermath of the tragedy the calf lost weight and it was feared he would not survive (Andrew Chant/Rex Features)
The bond between the baby elephant and his keeper has grown to be strong. The young orphaned calf loves Augustin's attention and if he doesn't get it he kicks him in the legs or lightly rubs against him (Andrew Chant/Rex Features)
The image of the young calf trying to wake his lifeless mother made headlines around the world. A total of 14 elephants have died as a result of the poisoning. It is not known what was the cause of the tragedy (Andrew Chant/Rex Features)
Joe the elephant and Dr Diana Ramirez at the the Lok Kawi zoo near Kota Kinabalu. Dr Ramirez said: "It's too soon to be sure that Joe will survive. Sometimes baby elephants can look OK but then still die suddenly. They are very prone to colic and it can be fatal very quickly. Once he's past six or seven months then we can be more confident that he'll survive." (Andrew Chant/Rex Features)

An orphaned pygmy elephant called Joe is on the mend after keepers feared the trauma stemming from the death of his mother would kill him. The young calf was rescued by wildlife officials after he was found trying to wake his lifeless mother, who had been mysteriously poisoned. The only survivor of his herd, the elephant had not been drinking enough milk and was dramatically losing weight. But Joe has gained an appetite for milk formula and has bonded with a keeper at the Lok Kawi wildlife park, Malaysia.