Edie's Story

Estimated to have been born in April 1999, this female calf was about 4 months when rescued from a well on the Namunyak Group Ranch North of Lewa Downs. Her family had struggled all night unsuccessfully to try and retrieve her, but had to leave when tribesmen and their cattle turned up.

She endured a rough ride in a lorry before being flown first to Lewa Downs Airstrip and from there by Charter plane to Nairobi. She is named "Edie" by special request of the Craig family who own Lewa Downs Ranch

Edie's Story

Estimated to have been born in April 1999, this female calf was about 4 months when rescued from a well on the Namunyak Group Ranch North of Lewa Downs. Her family had struggled all night unsuccessfully to try and retrieve her, but had to leave when tribesmen and their cattle turned up.

She endured a rough ride in a lorry before being flown first to Lewa Downs Airstrip and from there by Charter plane to Nairobi. She is named "Edie" by special request of the Craig family who own Lewa Downs Ranch, to honour the memory of one of their donors named "Evie". The closest Samburu word we could find to "Evie" was "Edie" which means "over there" and with the approval of the late Evie's family, we thought this more appropriate. For many weeks Edie suffered from deep depression grieving for her lost elephant family, and was very sore and bruised from her fall, able only to lie on one side of her body for more than a month. In all other respects, she was not in bad condition and tender loving care from both the Keepers and the other elephants soon made her happy again.

Ilingwezi is her best friend in those days, but now she travels as part of Emily's herd with her two wild born calves, Ella and Eden, and we are very happy to see them whenever they pass through the Voi stockades.

Adopt Edie for yourself or as a gift.

Adopt Edie for yourself or as a gift.

Current Age

25 years old

Gender

Female

Rescued date

15 August 1999

Rescue Location

Samburu, Namunyak Conservancy

Date of Birth (approximate)

1 April 1999

Reason Orphaned

Trapped in a well

Age at Rescue

4 months old (approx)

Current Location

Living Wild

Edie's featured photos

Our digital adoption programme includes the following:

Personalised adoption certificate.

Monthly email update on your orphan and the project.

Monthly watercolour by Angela Sheldrick.

Access to special content; latest Keepers' Diaries, videos and photos

Give Edie the gift of life by adopting today.

Edie's Calves

Meet Edie's wild born offspring.

Ella

Female

Ella was born during the long rains, when Tsavo was full of lush browse. Her mum is Edie, an orphan living back in the wild. Read more

Eden

Female

Eden is very shy and takes life at her own pace. Unlike the others, she doesn`t seem to enjoy pushing games and is seen as a bit of a coward. A Mummy`s girl, she loves spending time with Edie and her nanny Ndara. Read more

Eco

Male

We first met Eco on 15th November 2019, after Edie - alongside Mweya with her first born calf Mwitu - made the journey back to our Voi Reintegration Unit to introduce her baby to her human family, after the rains had fallen, as before then it would have been impossible due to a lack of food and water en-route. Eco is Edie's first male calf, and her third wild-born calf, after Ella (2009) and Eden (2015). Read more

Enzo

Male

Our ex orphans typically choose a morning debut for their new babies, but Edie clearly couldn’t wait until daybreak to introduce us to her latest addition. Very late at night of 26th January 2022, she arrived at the Voi Reintegration Unit with a newborn calf in tow. He is a healthy, round-cheeked little boy, who we have named Enzo. Read more

Latest updates featuring Edie

The Great Elephant Migration: A Journey for Coexistence

Read more

Mweya’s Journey Home to Debut Mojo

Read more

Edie Becomes a Mother of Four

Read more

Edie's latest photos

Laikipia, Mweya, and Edie at the stockades

Edie at the stockade compound

Edie with her baby Enzo

Edie, Eco, Enzo and Tahri

Edie, Enzo, Eco and Tahri visiting

From left Mwitu, Mweya, Tahri and Edie

Mweya, Edie, Laikipia & their calves eating cubes

Kihari and Edie leading