Lominyek

Has fully embraced his wild life in Tsavo East National Park

About Lominyek

  • Current age

    30 years old

  • Gender

    Male

  • Rescued date

    12 July 1996

  • Rescue location

    Samburu, Samburu National Reserve

  • Date of birth (estimate)

    1 April 1995

  • Reason orphaned

    Poaching

  • Age at rescue

    15 months old (approx)

  • Current location

    Living Wild

Adopt Lominyek for yourself, or as a gift

Lominyek's rescue

This young bull was about 14 months old when he became an orphan and was brought into the Nairobi Nursery on 12th July 1996. This means that he was born in approximately April 1995 in the Samburu National Reserve.

His name means “The Lucky One” in the Samburu tribal dialect and lucky to be alive today he is, for his mother was a casualty of Shifta poachers’ gunfire. She was found dying, her body literally riddled with gunshot wounds, so she was euthanized by a KWS Vet, and her calf, who also had a gunshot wound in the leg, was sedated and flown to the Nairobi Nursery for treatment and care. Fortunately, an X-ray of the leg indicated that no bullet was still actually lodged in the leg.

After recovering consciousness upon arrival in the Nursery, he was terrified by the presence in his stable of a human Keeper, who had to vault with alacrity over the dividing partition in double quick time. Two other baby elephant Nursery inmates were brought into his stable to calm him, and this they did, almost immediately. All three calves were then let out, but as soon as Lominyek saw the Keepers, he fled in terror, leaving his blanket draped on the rocks. Immediately, the other two calves raced after him, and the Keepers after them! When they eventually managed to catch up with him, the Keepers kept their distance, and simply followed behind whilst the other two Nursery inmates slowly steered Lominyek back to base. Astonishingly, by noon that day, when the public come to view the orphaned elephants, they had managed to impart the message that the humans that now surrounded him were friends, for he mingled quietly with all the visitors, greeting them hesitantly, and showing no sign of aggression, just a little apprehension indicated by the attitude of the ears. We found this extraordinary in view of his background and his age, for he was old enough to understand exactly who had killed his mother, and had grown up in an area where all elephants view humans as “the enemy”. The story of Lominyek simply reinforces what we have now come to understand and that is that elephants are capable of passing a very sophisticated message to one another. Without the input of the established two elephant orphans, it would have been incredibly difficult to handle a wild and severely traumatized calf of Lominyek’s age.

Once his leg wound had healed, he was moved down to Tsavo together with little Zoe where he slotted into the older orphaned group, which was then under the Leadership of “Malaika”. However, he never enjoyed the “favourite calf” status he craved, since that position was occupied by one smaller, namely “Lewa”. Feeling insecure, he kept pressing up close to Malaika, usurping the place of Lewa, and she kept pushing him away by prodding him gently with her tusks.

When he had past his second birthday, he happened upon a more accommodating wild Matriarch, and, moreover, one that was tuskless, who could not prod him! Instantly, he adopted this herd, who gladly took him in, and because he was used to being part of an elephant family, he was happy to remain. Thereafter, when the Keepers escorting the other orphans out in the bush met up with him, which they often did, he greeted them fondly as friends, but never showed any inclination to leave his adopted family and rejoin the orphaned unit. Lonimyek is therefore one of our most successful orphans, since he was dependent upon us for just 6 months. His story is particularly poignant since he was so forgiving of humans knowing that they had killed his beloved mother and in the process also wounded him and deprived him of his own loving elephant family. Today he is a fully established member of the wild Tsavo East elephant community and his Samburu birthplace must simply be a distant and unhappy memory.

His name means “The Lucky One” in the Samburu tribal dialect and lucky to be alive today he is, for his mother was a casualty of Shifta poachers’ gunfire. She was found dying, her body literally riddled with gunshot wounds, so she was euthanized by a KWS Vet, and her calf, who also had a gunshot wound in the leg, was sedated and flown to the Nairobi Nursery for treatment and care. Fortunately, an X-ray of the leg indicated that no bullet was still actually lodged in the leg.

Latest updates featuring Lominyek

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Keepers Diaries

View diary updates from across all our orphan units as written by the Keepers

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The Big Boys

The Trust now has l0 “Big Boys”, raised through our Nairobi Nursery as orphaned infants, and now grown and living free and wild amongst their wild peers in Tsavo National Park

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What's included in your adoption?

By adopting, you play a vital role in the life of an orphaned elephant, rhino, or giraffe — helping us provide the round-the-clock, loving attention each one needs and deserves over many years, so they can ultimately reclaim their place in the wild.

Your adoption supports the 100+ orphans in our care at any given time, covering the cost of milk and food supplies, Keepers' salaries, veterinary treatment, and other essentials.

Personalised adoption certificate

Celebrate your adoption with a personalised certificate, ready for you or your lucky gift recipient to print and display!

Monthly updates

Each month, we send a detailed update about our Orphans’ Project direct to your email inbox, featuring photos, stories, and special highlights.

Exclusive content

From the latest Keepers’ Diaries to a downloadable image gallery and more, adopters have exclusive access to our content library.

Do you have any questions?

Please refer to our FAQs for more information on the Adoption Program. However, if there is any specific question that is not on the FAQs page, feel free to contact us and we will do our best to assist you.
FAQs

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