*A version of this article originally appeared in the August 2024 Bush Telegraph newsletter. You can read our recent newsletters and sign-up to receive these in your inbox on our Bush Telegraph newsletter page.
Watching your child leave university is a proud moment for any parent. But this summer saw a graduation ceremony unlike any other when 13 young Kenyan elephants left Reteti Elephant Sanctuary for the final time.
Based in Samburu County’s Namunyak Conservancy, Reteti rescues, raises, and rewilds elephant calves that have become orphaned or irrevocably separated from their herd. Africa’s first community-owned and run elephant sanctuary – and the first African sanctuary to employ female elephant keepers – Reteti opened in 2016. Despite its relative infancy, it’s now one of our travellers’ most popular ‘little’ Kenyan excursions.
When we visited in 2019, Reteti had yet to rewild any calves. Much has changed since (not least the herd’s size!), so earlier this month, we caught up with Reteti’s Peter Lenasalia and Ummy Shaban for an update.
“We started slowly, slowly – first one elephant, then two – raising elephants isn’t easy, and at first it was very trial and error!” laughed Peter. “Since then, we’ve rewilded 23 elephants in four cohorts and reunited more than 30 lost calves with their mums. And currently, we’ve 34 calves in our custody.”
Calves arrive at Reteti for reasons including drought, human-wildlife conflict, and maternal mortality, but most have been abandoned after falling into man-made wells. Typically, Reteti’s rescues are aged between several months and two years, but the youngest, Naisimari, was just a week old when she was pulled from a well, and so tiny that for months, she could sneak through the stockade posts (handy at feeding times!). That she’s now a feisty toddler is a testament to Reteti’s ingenuity.
“About four years ago, we developed a unique formula based on goats’ milk that the calves thrived on. Since then, survival rates have jumped from 50% to 98%,” explained Peter. “We were the first to successfully raise a week-old elephant – a huge success for us.”
“Conservation is indigenous: you don’t have to go far to find the things you need to participate,” added Ummy. “Now, the Samburu Milk Mamas sell us 830 litres of their goats’ milk every day. Economically empowering, our working together has allowed 1,250 women to open bank accounts, many for the first time, and afford their children’s school fees.”
Unlike many sanctuaries that rely on volunteers, all Reteti’s staff come from the local Samburu community, too.
“Reteti has allowed the Samburu to control conservation within their own land,” explained Ummy. “We have over 100 keepers working shifts because the babies need 24/7 care; they need feeding every few hours and teaching at ‘bush school’, and many arrive traumatised and depressed. Each keeper brings so much love, and it really calms the babies down.”
Once the calves are settled, they progress to ‘bush school’: a daily enrichment programme incorporating essential survival skills required for life in the wild.
“They’re like children: if bored, they can get naughty,” Peter smiled. “So, we use activities to teach things their mum would have, like debarking trees.”
Finally, around the age of six or seven, the now-weaned calves are fitted with GPS collars and released into the conservancy in carefully selected micro-herds. Even then, a team of elephant guardians will monitor them from afar for several years.
“Our ultimate aim is for each group to join a wild herd,” Peter added. “Our first graduates – three boys released in 2019 – have now integrated with a bachelor herd, so I think they’re happy.”
Unsurprisingly, graduation days are bittersweet for all concerned. Virtually the entire community, Milk Mamas included, turned out to watch the Class of 24’s release.
“It’s an extremely emotional time,” Ummy admitted. “Yes, it’s the moment everyone has been working for. But when you’ve spent years watching the babies grow from hip height to taller than you, seeing them go is both wonderful and painful.”
For advice on adding Reteti to your next Kenyan safari and supporting this great charity, just get in touch. And for a regular dose of joy, follow Reteti on Instagram.
