Now living wild, where she is a mother of one
Current age
15 years old
Gender
Female
Rescued date
27 July 2009
Rescue location
Laikipia, Mutara Ranch
Date of birth (estimate)
20 July 2009
Reason orphaned
Poaching
Age at rescue
1 week old (approx)
Current location
Living Wild
Mutara called the Kenyan Wildlife Service, and since it was by then too late to initiate a rescue (added to the fact that all our phone land lines were out of action) the ADC Ranch personally alerted the Ol Pejeta Conservancy requesting them to care for the calf for the night.
And so it was, that on the 27th July 2009, the newborn baby female calf who has been named Mutara, after the ADC station that saved her from certain death, came to us flown in this time by East African Air Charters, in a small Cessna 206 aircraft.
Although the reason for her being orphaned is not definitely known, she is likely to also be a poaching victim. Her arrival brought the number of Nursery inmates to 24.
Mutara called the Kenyan Wildlife Service, and since it was by then too late to initiate a rescue (added to the fact that all our phone land lines were out of action) the ADC Ranch personally alerted the Ol Pejeta Conservancy requesting them to care for the calf for the night.
View diary updates from across all our orphan units as written by the Keepers
Another motherhood milestone for our extended elephant family! This time, it’s 15-year-old Makireti becoming a mum. As is tradition among many of our ex-orphans, she chose to come close to ‘home’ to give birth and then introduced us to her brand new baby.
On the night of 8th March 2022, just as our Ithumba team was getting ready for bed, Mutara and her herd appeared outside the stockades with a baby in their midst! He was a newborn: Mutara had clearly given birth earlier that evening. Mutara subsequently decided to spend her first night as a mother around the Ithumba Reintegration Unit, sharing this special moment with Benjamin and the other Keepers who raised her. Read more
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