Her story began on the Wangalla Plains in Tsavo East, a place of open skies and big predators. On the morning of 4th November 2025, we received reports of a tiny orphaned elephant. After more than an hour scouring the dense landscape, our search party found her deep in the bush, tucked amongst a herd of zebras. The little calf was distressed, crying and pacing in search of her mother. The night prior, lions had killed a buffalo nearby. It is possible that the orphan’s herd panicked and that she was separated in the confusion. It is a miracle that she survived the night on her own; a calf so small would be easy prey for lions, jackals, and hyenas who prowl under cover of darkness.

Given the complete absence of elephants in the area and the calf’s vulnerability, the Kenya Wildlife Service called for a rescue. Because of her small size, the operation was straightforward. After putting a blanket over her head to reduce stressful stimuli, the team drove her to the nearby Voi stockades. They waited until the SWT helicopter arrived and flew her to our Kaluku Neonate Unit.

We named the orphan Wangalla to connect her to her origins. As she was barely a week old, we knew that we had a challenge on our hands — and that Misheck, one of our most experienced Keepers, was the man for the job. For the next five months, Misheck refused to take any time off, dedicating his days to caring for Wangalla and taking the place of her lost family. She fell fully in love with Misheck — and it is because of him that Wangalla is alive today.

Every day is precarious for a neonate orphan, but especially the teething phase. Wangalla’s recovery was a slow one, and she was not spared the challenges of teething, losing her appetite and strength for several months. But Misheck remained by her side, coaxing her to drink sips of milk and hand-feeding her leaves from fresh greens.

Over time, as the little elephant became stronger, Wangalla began to emerge from her cocooned existence with Misheck. During the day, she would stand happily in the midst of Kaluku’s resident vulturine guineafowl, plucking grass with her trunk as they pecked with their beaks around their rather unconventional chick.

She began dusting herself right by Musumbi the hippo’s pool and made friends with Bumpy the baby hippo, spending time with him in the early mornings and even attempting to toss red dust over his body. In the evening, Wangalla would bimble around the compound long after dark, going from one Keeper to the next while they drank chai and she browsed on greens.

Fast forward a few months and Wangalla was ready to join Korbessa and the other elephants out in the bush. At first, she went on brief excursions and then the full daily jaunt. Korbessa was instantly besotted. With care and patience, this wonderful nanny coaxed her little sister out of her shell, thus supporting Keepers Misheck and Sammy in healing Wangalla from her trauma.

Neither Lamuu nor Sibu showed any inclination to look after her but no matter: Korbessa, Misheck and Sammy were giving her more than enough nurturing and Wangalla was becoming a lively little elephant.

In August, a new calf arrived at Kaluku and Wangalla was no longer the baby of the herd. Danisa is two months younger and the two girls soon became fast friends. Strong and confident, Wangalla is the decision-maker and always leads Danisa when they are browsing in the bush. Danisa is happy to follow and only stands her ground when a bottle of milk is involved. When it’s feeding time, the two tiny girls push and shove each other to be first!

Two months later, at the beginning of October, baby Bumba was rescued and was then introduced to the herd in the middle of the month. Not only Korbessa and Lamuu gave her a lovely welcome but also Wangalla! She has changed so much and, at the age of almost one, is already becoming a caring girl. In contrast to Danisa, who has lost her spot as the baby of the herd and cannot resist giving the newbie an occasional shove, Wangalla is being very friendly to little Bumba. A few days ago, the newbie was standing sandwiched by the two slightly older girls while Korbessa, who continues to be a devoted nanny, watched on, just in case Danisa misbehaved.

We are thrilled with the transformation of Wangalla over the past 12 months — from a desperately weak neonate to a confident little girl with endearingly quirky habits of dusting with hippos, browsing with guineafowl, and enjoying evening downtime with Keepers. Adored by everyone and already beginning to care for her little sisters, our butterfly has fully emerged from her cocoon!