We have named Chaimu's daughter Comet. It's a very Tsavo name — a celestial being, born wild in the land of endless, star-studded skies.

Our story with Chaimu spans some 17 years and counting. Orphaned when she was just an infant, she was initially spotted by rangers in the Chyulu Hills but evaded rescue, only to show up outside a lodge 22 kilometres away. Kristin Davis, who became a wonderful supporter of the Trust through Chaimu, was one of the tourists who saw her.

How Chaimu survived such an odyssey — and why she embarked upon it in the first place — remains a mystery. Perhaps she was searching for her family or hiding from whatever trauma had taken them from her.

Chaimu was rescued on 4th June 2009. She arrived at the Nursery terribly frightened of people — 11 months old, she was old enough to have internalised whatever circumstances left her orphaned and was very suspicious as a result. Added to that, she was passing blood and was sightless in one eye, with the other turning ominously milky as well.

But against the odds, Chaimu flourished. Working with an eye specialist, we got topsides of her eye issues and she regained full sight. With time, her condition improved and her body filled out. Trust took longer to build, but as the weeks wore on, Chaimu came to understand that she was safe and loved.

After finding her feet at the Nursery, Chaimu graduated to our Ithumba Reintegration Unit, where she went on to reclaim her place in the wild. In September 2024, she first became a mother in a most remarkable manner — she gave birth right outside the stockades! Chapa, as we named her son, was an absolute delight.

But then, Chapa's story took a tragic turn. Just before Christmas, after an absence of more than a month, Chaimu arrived at the stockades — without her infant son. His loss remains a complete mystery. Chaimu did not seem distressed or dispirited; in fact, she was behaving perfectly normally. Whatever happened, she had clearly already processed the loss.

Nature can be an unrelenting place, and most wild creatures won't go through life untouched by tragedy — but still, our hearts ached for Chaimu. So, we were delighted as time went on and it became abundantly clear that she was pregnant again. She had been a regular visitor around Ithumba in recent weeks, looking very large and moving very slowly. Clearly, the time was nigh.

Now, we wait no longer. Comet finds herself born in a prosperous time: Ithumba received unseasonably early rains, so the area is green and lush. There are still lots of elephants in the area, including Chaimu's good friends Tumaren and Mutara. She will have no shortage of support as she nurtures little Comet through her infancy.

Comet is the 95th known 'grandcalf' born to an orphan rescued, raised, and rewilded through our Orphans' Project. She is the latest in a sparkling constellation of wild elephants who are here today because an orphan's life was saved.

Thank you, as ever, for supporting our conservation work and bringing these extraordinary elephant dynasties to life. We look forward to watching Comet's story unfurl in the wilds of Tsavo, step in step with her lovely mother.