Meeting any grandbaby of our Orphans’ Project is auspicious. Meeting two in a single morning is miraculous! Early doors on 19th January 2025, the Voi Keepers found Edie and Sagala waiting near the stockades with their brand new baby girls. Enid is Edie's fifth calf, while Sia is Sagala’s first calf.

We rescued Edie in 1999. When she was just a few months old, she fell into a deep well. Reports say that her family struggled in vain all night to free her. At dawn, however, herdsmen and her cattle arrived, and the herd made the heartbreaking decision to abandon the stuck baby. By the time help arrived, they had long since left the area.

This was a profoundly traumatic event for Edie. She arrived at the Nursery consumed by grief, unwilling to accept her new human-elephant family as she mourned the herd who left her behind. To make matters worse, her little body was severely bruised from her fall into the well.

Some orphans simply don’t choose life, and we worried that Edie might be one of those tragic cases. Fortunately, she proved us wrong. Edie blossomed into a confident and independent little elephant, a great favourite of her Keepers. She flourished at the Nursery and found her independence at our Voi Reintegration Unit. Fast forward 27 years, and she is now living wild and leading her own herd of ex-orphans.

Edie first became a mother in 2009, giving birth to Ella. In 2015, she brought another daughter into the world, named Eden. The 2019 arrival of her third calf and first son, Eco, really shook things up in Tsavo! Edie’s best friend, Mwitu, had a little girl in tandem — and together, Eco and Mwitu made up the most mischievous pair of babies our Voi family has ever seen. In 2022, Edie gave birth to another round-cheeked little boy, Enzo. Little Enid brings her brood to five.

In 2017, southern Tsavo fell into the grips of a severe drought. The impact on elephants was catastrophic, with a death toll numbering some 400. We believe that Sagala’s mother was one of those lost lives. Our works manager, Trevor Jennings, found her on her own, emaciated and perilously close to a pride of lions.

After a touch-and-go initial few weeks, Sagala eventually regained her strength and hit her stride, first at the Nursery and then at our Voi Reintegration Unit. She has always been a mild-mannered, quiet elephant, with the patience of a saint and a heart of gold.

In 2024, we witnessed an extraordinary courtship between Sagala and ex-orphan Laikipia. She was about eight years old at the time, which is on the younger end of the spectrum, but nature knows when an elephant is ready. After many days of wooing, the pair mated within sight of our Keepers. During this time, we believe that Laikipia also mated with Arruba. We knew that we would have to wait 22 months to meet the product of these unions.

Incredibly enough, Laikipia seemed to have his own countdown! On Boxing Day, after nearly a year away, he popped by for a late-night visit. The timing cannot be a coincidence — we feel sure that he returned home in the hopes of meeting his progeny and has remained in the area.

Having made the pilgrimage home to give birth, Edie and Sagala have chosen to stay around Voi. Little Enid and Sia are in good company: Arruba's baby, Aura, is just days their senior. Late last year, Mbirikani, Naipoki, Kihari, and Panda had babies, turning Voi into a veritable creche. All these calves will grow up amongst an extraordinary, extended family.

Our new mothers are supported every step of the way: The first-time mums can lean on old pros like Edie and Mweya, who really know what they are doing. The girls’ fellow orphans turned lifelong friends have morphed into the most wonderful nannies — and it goes without saying that the dependent girls take every available opportunity to do their part!

Reflecting on how these elephants’ lives have transformed since their rescues, we feel a deep sense of pride and accomplishment. Edie came to us vulnerable and broken-hearted; Sagala arrived on the brink of death. Now, both are flourishing in the wilds of Tsavo, with their babies by their sides.

Our Orphans' Project is making a unique difference to Kenya’s elephants. Before our very eyes, elephant dynasties are taking shape from lives that otherwise would have been lost. We saved Edie 27 years ago, and already, her rescue has given life to five more elephants. Now, Sagala is following in her footsteps. And so the circle continues, one precious life at a time.