With a spear wound to his forehead and a deep slash around his leg from a hunter's snare, the elephant calf, believed to be little more than a year old, was in a bad way.
But despite his injuries, Simotua is one of the lucky ones - he was found just in time, and thanks to the work of conservationists, his future is looking bright.
For thousands of elephants every year, there is no such happy ending: Experts say 96 elephants are killed across Africa every day.
The majestic animals' numbers have declined dramatically in Africa over the past 75 years - down from three million in 1940 to 1.5 million in 1980, and just 300,000 today, according to the David Sheldrick Trust.
