DOLOLO 

When watering their livestock one morning, villagers came upon a baby elephant who had fallen into a waterhole and was unable to get out. He was found almost completely submerged in dirty water with the end of his trunk sticking out like a snorkel. The calf, who SWT staff believe was already an orphan before his fall, was barely breathing when rescued by the Kenyan Wildlife Service. Rangers pulled his weak, emaciated body out of the water and flew him by helicopter to SWT’s Nursery. As often occurs with starvation victims, Dololo frequently collapsed and regularly required emergency IV fluids during his initially weeks at the facility. 

ZIWA

Ziwa, a two-year-old male calf, was rescued following his mother’s death. After receiving reports of a sick female with a young dependent calf, SWT sent their mobile veterinarian group out to try to treat Ziwa’s mother. Her condition was hard to diagnose, however, and despite the medical care provided, she grew weaker and weaker until she was no longer able to travel with the herd. As the other elephants moved on, her loyal baby boy stayed behind and remained by her side.

MAPIA

Failed rains and a prolonged drought in portions of Kenya killed over 300 elephants and almost took the life of one-year-old Mapia who was fortunately sighted by Kenyan Wildlife rangers while out patrolling on foot. The rangers initially thought the baby elephant had died, and even when they realized he was still alive, didn’t think he could possibly survive until help arrived. Once notified, however, SWT quickly sent out a team just in case he could be saved. When the team arrived an hour or so later, they quickly loaded him into a Landcruiser and rushed to a nearby airfield where they worked to stabilize him. Due to previous experience with severe drought, SWT teams have become well versed in the life saving procedures needed to revive drought-stricken elephants. Remarkably, his eyes began to open and he became increasingly responsive. 

LEWA

Lewa, a male calf who most likely lost his mother to poachers, was found all alone at a young age. He was taken to the Voi Reintegration Unit, joining a herd comprised of adult females and many other orphaned elephants. With support from The Elephant Project and other generous donors, Lewa lived with the herd for a few years, spending lots of time with his “big brothers” who taught him important behaviors needed for moving on from a matriarchal society. At four years of age, Lewa and two of his male friends were moved to a new location – a lush valley where food, water, and other elephants are plentiful. Although his two friends had some difficulty adjusting to their new environment, Lewa, who is naturally very sociable, was able to easily integrate himself into the park’s wild herds and is now living a full and happy life.

MUNDUSI

This young calf was first spotted alone on the 20th of March reported by the Masai community to the Kenya Wildlife Service and Big life Scouts. In the hope that he would find his natal herd again they decided to observe him from a distance for a few days to see if he would catch up with other elephants, before assuming he was an orphan. Sadly as the days passed he cut a very lonely figure, increasingly vulnerable to predators, and visibly losing condition.

MUSIARA

This tiny calf was first observed by a film crew on the plains of the Maasai Mara and after hours of observation it became clear to them that something was definitely not as it should be, as the calf was very weak, and appeared a stranger to the herd. While the herd he was trailing were certainly curious of him, with one female in particular paying special attention, there were no lactating females present in the herd, and soon they left him behind while they moved on with their browsing. It was at this point the film crew first alerted the authorities and Warren Samuels called Angela and sent through photographs of the baby suspecting he was an orphan and might require rescuing.

MALIMA

On the 30th of October the DSWT Works Manager, Mr. Trevor Jennings, received a phone call from the Tsavo East National Park Assistant Warden at 6:30 am about a baby elephant found in a collapsed state in front of the Aruba Lodge. Immediately, the DSWT team travelled to the scene and found a young female elephant calf lying on her side on a mound of earth that had been dug out of a water pan. She looked in a desperate state, totally unresponsive and seemingly just moments away from dying.

TAGWA

On 6th May Angela was called by Simon Gitau, Senior Warden Mount Kenya, with reports of an orphaned elephant sighted in community lands, abandoned by the elephant herds of Mount Kenya National Park. The community thankfully were elephant friendly and sought to find assistance for the little baby alerting KWS personnel in the area.

NALEKU

We received a report from KWS on the 2nd January 2020 about an orphaned baby elephant whose mum had died the previous night in the Masai Mara. Scouts from the Mara Elephant Project (MEP) had been monitoring her and her baby for a few days prior to her passing, concerned by her poor condition.

MUKKOKA

On 20th September 2018, while on a routine fixed-wing patrol with DSWT pilot Neville Sheldrick, the Tiva De-Snaring Team leader, Nterto Kapina, spotted the tracks of what appeared to be a lone elephant calf wandering down the Tiva River.

KIASA

This story began with Neville Sheldrick on a routine patrol flight in one of the Trust’s planes, heading to the Southern sector of Tsavo East National Park from the DSWT Kaluku headquarters. While en route, in an area known as the triangle towards the Tsavo and Athi River junction, he noticed a tiny elephant calf escorted by two big bull elephants. He flew the area scouring for evidence of elephant herds but sighted no other elephants in the area.

KUISHI

On the 28th November, just as expectant clouds promised more hoped-for rain to relieve the drought that had gripped Tsavo National Park, the pilot from the Tsavo Trust sighted a tiny elephant calf standing beside her collapsed mother on the plains near Aruba.

MAISHA

On the 5th of September 2017 from the top of Irima Hill in Tsavo East National Park, Kenya Wildlife Service rangers watched a young abandoned elephant calf stagger to water and then collapse soon after having her fill. They quickly called the SWT funded Tsavo Mobile Veterinary Unit with KWS Vet Dr. Poghon, together with some of the SWT Voi elephant Keepers, who immediately rushed to the scene.

KINDANI

Every elephant rescue brings its own set of challenges. This particular rescue, however, tested the limits. For this baby, being orphaned was just the first hurdle. In the days that followed, she faced floods of biblical proportions, a night marooned amidst swirling waters, and a sojourn in an aircraft hanger — and survived it all with a quiet determinism.

BONDENI

On the morning of the 4th of February 2019, a newborn elephant wandered into a village bordering the Chyulu Hills. Why a calf so young had been abandoned, remains a mystery. However, we must surmise that his herd was disturbed as they ventured onto community lands, and in the chaos, he was left behind. Given his sorry state, he must have travelled far: His tiny feet were covered in lacerations from the lava fields that jut out of the land surrounding the Chyulus. This precarious terrain presents a hazard for any creature, let alone one with such tender footpads as a newborn elephant. No elephant herds had been sighted in the vicinity, dashing any hopes of reuniting him with his mother.

ETSOIT

The phone call we received on the evening of the 3rd of May 2021 made our hearts sink: A gravely injured female elephant had been sighted on the Chyulu Hills. Her right hind leg was shattered, likely as a result of falling in the rocky terrain, leaving her unable to walk. She had resorted to shuffling along in a seated position, struggling with every little movement. To further compound an already tragic situation, the female in question was the mother of two calves. One was a young, milk-dependent baby, the other was much older, around seven years of age.

Watch the rescue video

MAE BOON PENG

Mae Boon Peng was born in the Yuam District, Mae Hong Son Province. She has had two babies in her life; one died after falling down the mountain and the second baby was taken away from her at a young age. The owner sold the baby to work in a camp in Phuket. Mae Boon Peng and Mae Dang used to work together in an elephant trekking tourist camp for many years.

MAE JAN DEE

Mae Jan Dee was working in the logging industry. Originally, She came from Mae Hong Son province. They bought her in 1996 to use her as elephant riding for tourists in the family business. But when the ethical program of elephants was trending, she was released from the heavy work and join in Saddle Off project under the name of Majestic Elephant Project since 2016.

TANG MO

Tang Mo is a female elephant who was just two years old when she was taken to Phuket Zoo over two decades ago. At Phuket Zoo, Tang Mo was forced to “rave” to music, “play” musical instruments and perform various other tricks for tourists’ entertainment. The lengthy performances were held up to three-times-a-day, all under the constant threat of the sharp “bullhook”. She was rescued on the 11th August, 2020 to her forever home at Elephant Nature Park, after a long journey of over 32 hours.

SAN MUEANG

San Mueang is a male elephant who was removed from his mother’s care at a very young age of 3 years old and forced to perform at the Phuket Zoo. He was forced to “dance” to music, “play” musical instruments and perform demeaning tricks for tourists’ entertainment. The lengthy performances were held up to three-times-a-day, all under the threat of the sharp “bullhook”. When not performing, he was chained on concrete flooring in a small, barren enclosure, where onlookers often saw the him swaying repeatedly in distress - a sign of the psychological condition ‘zoochosis’.

KINYEI

On 4th July 2018, a group was on a game drive in Ol Kinyei Conservancy in the Mara. They were watching a pride of Lions, an exciting and most welcome sight on safari, when they spotted something amiss: a tiny elephant calf, alone and wandering precariously close to the pride. She was skirting in and out of the bush, but as soon as the lions felt compelled, she would have made very easy prey.

KAMILI

Tsavo is in the grips of a brutal dry season, with intense heat and late rains making life extremely challenging for all. Kamili is an orphan who would have never stood a chance, had it not been for a fortuitous, eleventh-hour sighting.

LEMEKI

Mercurial weather is a fact of life in Kenya, but the floods of early 2018 sent the country into a watery crisis. Amidst all this turmoil, we received a startling call on the morning of 20th March: While on patrol, Mara Elephant Project scouts spotted a creature bobbing among the angry whitecaps of the Mara River.

ROKKA

Rokka’s rescue is more of an epic saga than a mere story. It all began on the evening of 26th July 2021, during a routine patrol along the Tiva River. Flying over a popular watering point, our pilots spotted a lone baby elephant. She was far too young to be on her own — seven months old, at most — and looked extremely stressed.