Now living wild, though he continues to visit us regularly
Current age
8 years old
Gender
Male
Rescued date
14 January 2017
Rescue location
Maasai Mara, Maasai Mara National Reserve
Date of birth (estimate)
3 December 2016
Reason orphaned
Unknown
Age at rescue
1 month old (approx)
Current location
Ithumba Reintegration Unit
The Mara at the time was desperately dry, and it was clear the baby was emaciated and totally dehydrated, so with the wild herd forced to move on to sustain themselves in this dry and challenging time, the calf eventually lay down under the shade of a tree, vulnerable and alone, with his life force ebbing away rapidly.
The Maasai Mara warden responded and drove to the site to be absolutely sure the baby was an orphan and in need of a rescue, but on arrival the calf was by now unresponsive, with only a faint heart beat evident of any life. The rescue was mobilized and the SWT team flown in to the closest strip and the calf was delivered to the team in the back of the Mara Warden's landcruiser. It was evident that we were going to have a battle on our hands to retrieve this baby, whose plight remains a mystery to this day, because while he was first sighted trailing a herd of elephants in the Mara, his whole body, eyes, and mouth were caked in dried mud. It is possible he was stuck in the swamp, and managed to extract himself or was aided perhaps by the herd he was first discovered trailing - but we think before that happened he had spent a long while without his mother to be in such a critical state.
The Mara at the time was desperately dry, and it was clear the baby was emaciated and totally dehydrated, so with the wild herd forced to move on to sustain themselves in this dry and challenging time, the calf eventually lay down under the shade of a tree, vulnerable and alone, with his life force ebbing away rapidly.
View diary updates from across all our orphan units as written by the Keepers
After exactly a year away, Jotto and Musiara — two wild-living Ithumba orphans we have known since they were just weeks old — returned home for a visit.
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