Neshashi stands out as one of our most challenging, gravity-defying rescues.
In January 2022, Samburu Trust alerted us that a female elephant had been fatally shot in human-wildlife conflict, leaving her young daughter an orphan. As far as calves go, Neshashi was quite big — but we knew she still had little chance of surviving the hostile, drought-stricken conditions. KWS called for her rescue.
However, saving her was going to be complicated. She was in a remote area that no vehicle could access, but was too large to fit inside a helicopter. So, we formulated a unique plan to bring Neshashi to safety: instead of carrying her inside the helicopter, we slung her below the aircraft. For half an hour, fully anaesthetised, she gently swayed above the most remote corners of Kenya. Then she was swapped into a bigger plane (which was still a squeeze!) and flown to our Nursery.
As is common with orphans rescued at an older age, Neshashi reclaimed her place in the wild fairly quickly, joining our ex-orphans herd and shining as a nanny. Still, she regularly visits our Ithumba Reintegration Unit to reconnect with her human-orphan family — a clear sign she will never forget the people and the place that gave her sanctuary when she needed it most.
Neshashi is such a sweet elephant, and it fills us with joy to see her thriving today.
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