See Pictures of Warriors Who Once Feared Elephants and Now Protect Them
Published 12 Nov 2017, 01:09 GMT
Kinya gently reminds Rimland Lemojong, a Samburu conservationist and elephant caretaker, that there’s no rest for the weary. “It’s so sad that Kinya died,” Lemojong says. “We all worked hard to make sure Kinya should get a second chance to live.”
Photograph by Ami Vitale, National GeographicLkalatian Lopeta (right), a Samburu wildlife ranger, and Reteti staffers guard the two-week-old Kinya in hopes she will be reunited with her herd.
Photograph by Ami Vitale, National GeographicJoseph Lolngojine, a Samburu warrior turned elephant caretaker, watches over Kinya. Moments after this photo was taken, it was decided to bring her to the sanctuary to try to save her life.
Photograph by Ami Vitale, National GeographicMike Learka reaches for a bottle of formula while Naomi Leshongoro (at right) empties one into a hungry mouth. In the wild, grown elephants can be a threat to humans and their property—the Samburu have traditionally avoided them or chased them away.
Photograph by Ami Vitale, National GeographicLeshongoro gentles orphaned Pokot with the hand of experience: She had cared for and released five young elephants into the wild before Reteti opened last year. A mother herself, Leshongoro views these big babies as her own children.
Photograph by Ami Vitale, National GeographicSasha Dorothy Lowuekuduk mixes formula for the babies. “The sanctuary has changed my feelings about elephants,” she says proudly.
Photograph by Ami Vitale, National GeographicA feel-good dirt bath is just the thing in the heat of the day. A coating of soil helps protect sensitive elephant skin by acting as both sunscreen and insect repellent. Shaba (lying down) demonstrates how it’s done for the younger orphans.
Photograph by Ami Vitale, National GeographicLemojong plays ball with Pokot, a seven-month-old male who arrived in November, in front of the facility’s elephant enclosures.
Photograph by Ami Vitale, National GeographicShaba, now nearly two years old, is the proxy matriarch of the younger Reteti orphans, teaching them how to forage in the wild. Under the eye of caretakers, she leads her small herd into the bush outside the sanctuary, stripping leaves, tasting bark, pushing down small trees, taking mud baths.
Photograph by Ami Vitale, National GeographicMary Lengees, one of Reteti’s first female elephant keepers caresses Suyian, the first resident. Suyian was rescued in September 2016 when she was just four weeks old.
Photograph by Ami VitaleMathew Mutinda, a vet with the Kenya Wildlife Service, crouches over 18-month-old Mugie, still sedated after his rescue. His mother had been shot and killed in conflict with people. Mugie was flown to an airstrip near the sanctuary, then driven to Reteti.
Photograph by Ami Vitale, National GeographicA sedated 15-month-old Sosian is loaded into a specially adapted vehicle for transport to the sanctuary. He was brought in when his mother was found shot and mortally wounded. The Reteti team makes sure to take in only orphans, not temporarily abandoned youngsters.
Photograph by Ami Vitale, National GeographicUp periscope! Shaba sniffs out her coming meal, a special formula that replaces mother’s milk and is given to the babies every three hours around the clock. A recent study showed that elephants have the highest number of smell-receptor genes of any animal yet tested.
Photograph by Ami Vitale, National GeographicPokot fools around outside the enclosures. With care and luck, in a few years he’ll be weaned and released to live among the wild herds of northern Kenya.
Photograph by Ami Vitale, National GeographicPatience is not an elephant virtue at feeding time. Amos Leleruk and his hangers-on step out for a meal. In the wild weaning usually occurs when elephants are five to 10 years old.
Photograph by Ami Vitale, National GeographicFinders keepers is all in a day’s play. In addition to being highly intelligent, elephants are innately social and need stimulation and interaction to develop normally.
Photograph by Ami Vitale, National GeographicA portrait of Suyian, the first rescued elephant brought to the new Reteti facility
Photograph by Ami VitaleSamburu warriors stand on a ridge surrounded by the scrubby grasslands of the Namunynak Wildlife Conservation Trust. “All men working at Reteti were at some point warriors or are currently warriors,” says Katie Rowe, who helped found Reteti. “It’s a tribal rite of passage that every young man becomes a warrior.”
Photograph by Ami Vitale, National Geographic