Pictured: The baby elephant that has been adopted by a sheep

By Daily Mail Reporter
Updated:

It's as close to the lion lying down with the lamb as you are likely to see - exceot the lamb is a full-grown sheep and its snoozing partner is a baby elephant.

The unlikely bond between Themba the elephant and Albert the sheep has taken nature reserve wardens by surprise.

The six-month-old elephant was orphaned after his mother died in a fall down a cliff.

Themba the orphaned baby elephant and Albert the sheep

Themba and Albert take a nap on the termite mound they have just demolished

Vets at South Africa's Sanbona wildlife reserve monitored the young elephant for a week, hoping he would be adopted and suckled by another elephant cow.

But that did not happen and staff from an animal hospital were forced to take him in so he did not starve to death.

Here at the Shamwari Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, in the Eastern Cape, he was introduced to Albert.

The first meeting was not propitious.

Filmmaker naturalist Lyndal Davies, 41, said: 'All hell broke loose. Themba made a dash for the sheep and chased him around his watering hole.'

Albert dashed into the safety of a shelter at the far end of the enclosure and stayed there for the first 12 hours.

Themba the orphaned baby elephant and Albert the sheep

From sheep to shepherd: Albert leads the way on one of their pair's daily jaunts

But Themba's gentle curiosity must have reassured the sheep.

Ms Davies, who is filming the pair for a documentary, said: 'Themba was very curious and kept coming up and sticking his trunk through the poles, touching Albert on his woolly back and having a good sniff.

'The next morning Albert was clearly bored and started venturing out into the main enclosure.'

She said: 'Themba wouldn't leave Albert's side and the two were seen exploring their enclosure together, with Themba's trunk resting on Albert's back.

'Ever since that moment Themba and Albert have been inseparable.'

These amazing pictures show one of the pair's daily eight-hour wanderings - essential for Themba's development.

He and Albert can be seen dozing together on a termite mound they have just demolished.

Themba the orphaned baby elephant and Albert the sheep

Chowing down on acacia leaves is normal for an elephant but highly unusual for a sheep

Dr Johan Joubert, the centre's wildlife director, said the robust sheep could handle rough-and-tumble with Themba much better than the human staff.

He added: 'Albert is like a brother to Themba and he is definitely an important member of Themba's herd.

'We were a bit concerned to start with that we may end up with en elephant that thought it was a sheep, however, it's turned out to the other way round.

'Albert copies everything Themba does. In fact, they have almost the exact same diet. Albert is the first sheep I have ever seen eat a thorny acacia bush.

'He has been studying Themba and worked out the best way to get his mouth around the long, sharp thorns to reach the juicy leaves.'

The team's main objective is to get Themba back into the wild - so the pair are likely to be separated eventually.

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