The calf's mother is trained to drive wild elephants away from human communities

Aug 23, 2013 14:42 GMT  ·  By

Here's one interesting piece of news: Indonesia’s Tesso Nilo National Park is home to an elite team of critically endangered Sumatran elephants that work alongside human trainers to drive wild elephants back into the forest whenever they come too close to local communities and agricultural lands.

Needless to say, this prevents conflicts between people and elephants living in the area, and pretty much keeps everybody happy and satisfied.

This team, dubbed the Flying Squad, used to be made up of four adult elephants and eight human handlers. However, it has recently welcomed a new member.

The World Wildlife Fund tells us that a female elephant calf was born to an elephant belonging to the elite team this past August 9, after a gestation period of about 20-22 months.

It is perfectly healthy, and spends its days trailing its mother's every step.

Odds are it’s doing so because it hopes it will one day be allowed to join its mother on its missions.

Seeing how the World Wildlife Fund is looking to set up several other such elephant squads, here's hoping this calf will one day get its own team.