I stopped my 4x4 making sure I was keeping a safe distance. It was my third time checking on Daisy and Duke but I wasn’t sure that they had already got used to the human presence. I kept my eyes on them for long. The two beautiful rescued siblings, whose mom had lost her life to poachers. I was so glad that myself and my team found them and brought them to the reserve. Here they were safe. They had grown too, but you could see by their short tusks they weren’t adults yet. I smiled at them without even realising I was doing it. I wished I could touch their rugged grey skin and tell them how much it meant to me that they were safe.

Duke definitely walked around with more self-confidence and poise. For a moment his eyes also met mine but then he stepped away towards his sister, plunging his round, heavy paws on the sludgy ground. Maybe he wanted to protect her. Here and there I could see round puddles of watery mud. The rain had found a sweet, comfy place to stay, there in Daisy and Duke’s paw prints.

Daisy was definitely shyer. Despite her heavy appearance, she would walk with gracefulness and a sort of lady-like posture I never thought possible in such a colossal creature.

The sun was setting. The two siblings walked away towards it, certainly to enjoy its last warmth rays. I turned my 4x4 on and prepared to leave. As the engine let out a mild roar, the two elephants turned around. My hand raised and I said goodbye to them. “I’ll be back.”, I said before I twisted the steering wheel and drove away slowly. Being a wildlife ranger could be tough but moments like these made it so worth it.