The introduction happened early, before the orphans were even let out of their nighttime stockades. Kinna, who had been away for over a week, appeared from the eastern side, followed by her daughters, Kaia and Kama, along with Kilabasi, Kofi, Nasalot, Noah, Nusu, Mundusi, Roi, Tusuja, and Ishanga. The Keepers were excited to see a tiny baby in the group, who we quickly realised was Kinna’s third daughter! We named her Kito, which means ‘precious jewel’ in Swahili.

We knew that Kinna was pregnant, but the timing was unexpected. Her youngest daughter, Kaia, is only three years old, so we didn’t think she would have another baby until next year. But elephants are constantly surprising us. Kaia and big sister Kama were very protective of their little sister and didn’t allow the orphans to get close to Kito.

A short while later, with Kito’s debut complete, Kinna and her team departed into the bush. We are extremely honoured that she made a special visit home to introduce us to her newest daughter.

We have been part of Kinna’s life for 25 years and counting. On 18 October 1999, we were called to rescue a newborn calf who had become stuck in a waterhole in Meru National Park. She spent hours submerged in mud as the glaring sun baked her little body. One ear became so burnt that, upon her arrival at the Nursery, the top edge crumbled off entirely.

Over the intervening years, Kinna blossomed in our care — first at the Nursery, then at our Ithumba Reintegration Unit — and eventually transitioned to the wild. In March 2017, Kinna became a first-time mum, delivering a beautiful little daughter. She included us in this milestone moment, bringing her baby to Ithumba just after giving birth to her. We named her Kama.

Four years later, Kinna’s little family grew again. On an October morning that began like any other, suddenly Kinna, Kama, and the rest of Yatta’s ex-orphan herd rushed up to the stockades with a chorus of trumpets. This level of fanfare could only mean one thing: a baby announcement! Sure enough, Kinna had a newborn by her side. She was still petal pink behind the ears and wobbly on her legs, but looking very healthy. We named her Kaia.

Kinna plays a very special role in our history, in that she is one of Ithumba’s ‘founding females’. When we were starting the new reintegration unit in 2004, we thought long and hard about who would form the base of Ithumba’s orphan herd. They would set the foundations for all the orphans who would follow in their footsteps.

Kinna, who had blossomed into a calm, competent female in the years since her rescue, was an obvious choice. She moved to northern Tsavo East alongside three other formidable females, Yatta, Mulika, and Nasalot.

It is a privilege to raise any orphaned elephant from infancy, but even more so, to later watch them raise their own families. Although Kinna has been leading a fully wild life for more than 15 years, she continues to visit her human-elephant family at Ithumba regularly.

A quarter of a century ago, just as her life was beginning, Kinna nearly met an untimely end. Now, she is a matriarch of Tsavo, with three daughters by her side. It will be a wonderful to witness how Kito comes into her own as time unfolds.

Kito is the 68th known calf born to an orphan we rescued, raised, and reintegrated back into the wild. These wild-born babies are the best testament to the success of our Orphans’ Project, showing how one life saved can lead to generations of elephants.