On the morning of 16th October 2024, the Keepers awoke to find a group of ex-orphans clustered outside the stockades. Peering closer, they spotted a tiny elephant tottering between them. The calf had just been born (we found evidence just a few metres up the path) and was still wobbly on her feet. Mudanda had given birth!

We knew this moment was on the horizon. Mudanda went wild in December 2022. Over the past 22 months, her belly has grown progressively rounder. During visits back home, she often chose to remain with the dependent herd, clearly weary of trekking long distances with her ex-orphan friends.

We also have the unique privilege of knowing who fathered Mudanda’s baby. 22 months ago, the Voi Keepers witnessed her mate with Laikipia, another ex-orphan who is now an impressive 25-year-old bull. The offspring of two ex-orphans, Mudanda’s baby is a true child of our Orphans’ Project.

Back in May, after spending the early part of the year in the environs of Voi, Mudanda ventured away with her fellow ex-orphans. We hadn't seen trunk nor tail or her for five months — that is, until 1st October, when she arrived at the stockades with fellow ex-orphans Mweya, baby Mwitu, Panda, Sagala, Kihari, Arruba, Mbirikani, and Ndii. They took up residence in the area, never straying too far from Voi.

We thought it was unusual for the ex-orphans to show up at the peak of the dry season. It is a long and difficult journey across the southern Tsavo rangelands to Voi, which is why they typically only return 'home' after the rains have fallen. In hindsight, it is clear that Mudanda and her team made the pilgrimage so she could give birth in the presence of the people who raised her.

Mudanda is now the proud mother of a beautiful baby girl. We named her daughter Miale, which means ‘sunray’ in Swahili. She is plump, inquisitive, and spry — everything a baby elephant should be!

This is an especially poignant milestone for our Voi family. Mudanda is one of the original ‘Voi Kids’ — an orphan who skipped the Nursery stage and was entirely raised at Voi. We rescued Mudanda in 2013, after our pilot spotted her in the nearby Mudanda area of Tsavo East. She was alone and desperately searching for water in a dry sand lugga. Based on her gaunt condition, she had been struggling on her own for some time.

We believe that Mudanda is an orphan of ivory poaching, which was rife in Kenya at the time. The carcass of a female elephant had been spotted near Mudanda Rock a week prior. She was likely Mudanda’s mother.

Mudanda is a reminder that, like us, elephants are a constant evolution. As a youngster, she was notorious for her mercurial temper — everyone knew to give Mudanda a wide berth when she was in one of her moods! But recently, a more sensitive and tolerant side has emerged. We have no idea what Mudanda witnessed before her rescue, but it is common for orphans who lost their mothers under tragic circumstances to bear deep psychological wounds. Perhaps Mudanda just needed a bit longer than most for those scars to heal.

Now, Mudanda has her whole life ahead of her — with baby Miale by her side. An elephant’s life revolves around the family unit. This is especially true for our orphans. While fate took them from their natal herd, they have grown up with a family unit that is just as strong.

While Mudanda raises her daughter in the wild, she will be surrounded and supported by her friends and fellow orphans, who have become as close as sisters. And whenever she wants to come home — be it for help or simply to celebrate a joyous milestone — she knows exactly where to find us.

Miale is the 64th known calf born to an orphan we rescued, raised, and reintegrated back into the wild — and the third newborn in as many weeks, hot on the heels of Chapa and Sid in Ithumba! 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.