Elephants

Much like last month, May spoiled us with grandbabies born to our ex-orphans. The first little miracle arrived on the first of the month, when Sunyei — an elephant we have known for more than two decades — brought the latest addition to our extended family. Not 24 hours later, first-time mum Makireti proudly debuted her brand new son. This will be a year to remember, with so many babies already born and many more on the way.

It was also a month of new beginnings, as our Nursery big girls — Sileita, Sholumai, and Mushuru — graduated to our Voi Reintegration Unit, where they will continue their journey back to the wild. The move went well and the trio are enjoying Tsavo life, supported by their Nursery Keeper, Geoffrey, who will remain with them until they’re fully settled. 

Also in Voi, mini matriarch Mbegu finally felt compelled to answer the call of the wild. She has long been an anchor of our dependent herd, showing remarkable devotion to all the younger orphans. The fact that she has started exploring her independence shows just how strong an elephant’s wild instincts are. We rescued Mbegu 11 years ago, when she was a tiny calf sheltering in a classroom, so this next step is incredibly poignant for us.

In case you missed it, we also shared the remarkable treatment-turned-rescue of Chapeyu, a seven-year-old elephant who suffered a terrible spear wound and would not have been able to recover in the wild. It has been a Herculean effort to save him over these past four months, but we are happy with his progress. Incredibly, despite the cruelty Chapeyu experienced at the hands of humans, he has learned to trust his new SWT family.