In the early hours of 29th April 2025, the Ithumba Keepers spotted movement outside the stockades. Peering into the darkness, they could just make out the form of Lualeni with her two daughters, Lexi and Lulu — and with them was a brand-new addition, who had been born only hours earlier! Lualeni clearly made the pilgrimage home right after delivering her little boy.

Lualeni’s kids slept peacefully outside the stockades as their mother kept watch. She was ably supported by Oltaiyoni, who appears to have taken on the role of main nanny to young Luki. When the dependent herd emerged from their rooms in the morning, our resident baby lovers, Naleku and Suguroi, made a beeline for the newborn. Big sisters Lulu and Lexi were very protective of any visitors, while Lualeni was happy to let the girls meet her baby.

A few hours later, Lualeni and her family rejoined us at the mud bath. Her little one enjoyed his very first wallow, hawkishly observed by his big sisters. After a brief rest, Lualeni led her family northwards and into the bush. We felt so lucky to be part of Luki’s very first day on earth.

Motherhood is a momentous chapter for any elephant, but especially for an orphan who has overcome so much heartbreak. Lualeni’s story nearly ended 21 years ago, just as her life was beginning. In November 2004, lodge staff in the Taita Hills Sanctuary stumbled upon an infant elephant, no more than a few months old, sleeping beneath a tree. They observed her for a day, hoping she might join a passing herd — but she was rebuffed each time. It soon became clear that this calf was utterly alone in the world. Given the time and location, we suspect she lost her mother to poachers.

To this day, no orphan has grieved so profoundly, or for so long, as Lualeni. For months after her rescue, she remained psychologically crippled. She kept her distance from the other orphans, showing no flicker of joy or interest in her new family. Her Keepers and fellow orphans tried everything to show her that life was still worth living, but she remained a shell of an elephant.

And then, we had a breakthrough. Four months after she came into our care, Lualeni woke up and chose life. She emerged from her stable with a bounce in her step, playing with the others and showing a spark we had never seen before. From that moment forward, she was an elephant transformed.

We often find that orphans who have overcome the greatest traumas grow into the most nurturing elephants. That was certainly true of Lualeni. She instinctively took younger orphans under her wing — first at the Nursery, and later at our Ithumba Reintegration Unit. In fact, she was so enthusiastic in this role that she became something of a handful once she transitioned to the wild: The Keepers inwardly groaned whenever Lualeni visited, because she was fixated on ‘kidnapping’ the dependent orphans! While the Keepers always managed to foil her attempts, it was clear that she was eager to assemble a family of her own.

Motherhood fulfilled that desire. On 27th September 2018, Lualeni gave birth to our 30th known wild-born calf, a beautiful little girl we named Lulu. Unsurprisingly, she proved to be an excellent mother and has raised her daughter with great care.

A few years later, Lualeni was expecting again — and we began to see echoes of her old behaviour. One afternoon, the Ithumba dependent orphans suddenly veered off course. After a brief search, the Keepers found them at the mud bath, where Lualeni was triumphantly lounging surrounded by her daughter and little followers. She had clearly summoned the orphans: In hindsight, perhaps she was already recruiting nannies for her next arrival!

On 7th January 2022, Lualeni introduced us to her second baby — a lovely little girl we named Lexi. In the intervening years, they have been regular visitors around Ithumba. Lualeni is an excellent mother and a generous friend, shepherding younger ex-orphans into their wild lives and always being kind to the dependent herd.

While Luki is Lualeni’s third baby, he is her first son. We know that he will grow up incredibly spoiled, with two big sisters to dote on him and a competent, loving mother to lead him through life.