This mission to treat a big bull giraffe took the race to the next level. He was reported by tourists in Tsavo West National Park with a wound on his front left leg, which appeared to be badly infected.

The giraffe needed help, but we faced a challenge. The majority of the SWT/KWS Tsavo Mobile Vet Unit was engaged in another operation, so we were working with a skeleton crew. Ideally, there would be at least four people on the ground to rope the giraffe. That afternoon, we had just two: Roan and KWS Capture Ranger Kemboi. Given the difficult environment — dense vegetation and knotty bushes — aerial support was essential. SWT pilot Hamish flew the helicopter so KWS veterinarian Dr Lawi could dart the patient from the air.

About eight minutes after the dart landed, the giraffe began high-stepping without much sense of direction — a sure sign the anaesthetic was starting to take effect. It was time to move in. Roan and Kemboi managed to get ropes around him and then went on a charged journey through the bush. He was slowing down, but no less powerful.

Finally, a window of opportunity presented itself for the pair to pull the giraffe to the ground and leap on his neck. Giraffes use their necks to swing to their feet, so this is a vital step to ensure the patient remains recumbent. As the helicopter landed and Dr Lawi rushed to the scene, Roan administered the reversal. As he began to wake up, the giraffe attempted to resume his run, lying on his side and racing in place.

Dodging limbs flailing with enough force to topple entire trees, the team managed to secure the giraffe’s leg to treat his injury. As suspected, it was badly infected and filled with maggots, which would have continued to eat away at the wound without intervention. They cleaned and debrided the site before administering antibiotics and insecticidal spray.

With treatment complete, Kemboi stepped away from the patient’s head so he could swing to his feet. He will make a full recovery.

This giraffe was likely injured in a natural accident. However, his species desperately needs our help: Across Africa, giraffe populations have declined by nearly 30 percent since the 1980s, and they have vanished completely from many countries. Habitat loss, poaching, and climate change are the leading causes of this decline.

Humans pose the greatest threat to giraffes — so it is up to us to secure their future. Against the backdrop of our wider field projects that address root challenges to conservation, treatments like this one help balance the scales.