This afternoon, we received reports of a lioness who had fallen into an unused septic pit on community land. Steep-sided and impossibly deep, she would never have been able to escape it without help. She had likely fallen in the night before and had been stuck for nearly 24 hours.

Dr Limo darted the patient, then two members of the team lowered into the pit to secure her for extraction. Slowly, the lioness was lifted up to safety. The team administered fluids, checked her for injuries and, finding none, transported her deep within the Tsavo East National Park.

As night fell, the lioness slipped back into the wilderness — off to reunite with her pride.