Moe’s story began long before his birth. In the year 2000, a tiny orphaned elephant was discovered in Meru National Park. Mulika, as we named her, arrived at the Nursery in a very traumatised state. We cannot confirm how she lost her mother, but given how troubled and untrusting of humans Mulika initially was, we suspect poaching. While she was always a bit aloof, Mulika grew into a confident and nurturing leader, first at the Nursery and then at our Voi Reintegration Unit.

Mulika really came into her own in 2004, when we established our Ithumba Reintegration Unit. We thought long and hard about who would form the founding herd of our new unit. They would set the foundations for all the orphans who would follow in their footsteps. Mulika was an obvious choice, given her natural leadership. She moved to northern Tsavo East alongside three other formidable females, Yatta, Kinna, and Nasalot.

Over the past two decades, Mulika has blossomed into a matriarch and an esteemed mentor, mother, and grandmother. Alongside Yatta, Kinna, Nasalot, and Ithumba’s other pioneering ex-orphans, she has successfully integrated with wild herds and raised her own family. Over the years, Mulika has become a role model to dozens of orphans, helping them find their own place in the wild.

In November 2011, Mulika gave birth to Ithumba’s very first ‘grandbaby.’ The proud mum promptly made the pilgrimage home to introduce her newborn to the people who raised her. This has become a time-honoured tradition among our Ithumba ex-orphans; nearly all circle back after giving birth — sometimes, they even come home specifically to give birth.

With Mulika, the next generation of our Ithumba extended family began. Head Keeper Benjamin chose to name Mulika’s baby Mwende, which means ‘loved one’ in the local Kamba language. In 2020, Mulika gave birth to a second calf, a little boy named Mkuu.

Almost exactly a year ago, Mulika became a grandmother. On 22nd October 2023, Mwende, Mulika’s firstborn and our collective ‘loved one,’ delivered a baby of her own. Although she has only ever known a wild life, Mwende still presented her newborn to the humans who make up her extended family. We named her Mala.

This year, it was Mulika’s turn to become a mother once again. She has been a regular visitor during the dry season, so we suspected that a birth was imminent. Mulika has always been an unusually tall and statuesque elephant, and at a full-term pregnancy, her stature took on even more impressive dimensions!

On the morning of 27th October 2024, Mulika strode up to the stockade compound with a tiny baby boy in tow. In her typical laid-back fashion, there was little fanfare — even her daughter, son, and granddaughter were not present! It was as if Mulika just wanted to quietly debut Moe to the Keepers, before returning to her family in the wilderness.

In the days that followed, Mulika and Moe have been frequent visitors around Ithumba. She is usually in the company of Mkuu, Mwende, Mala, and an assortment of ex-orphan friends. Poignantly, our ex-orphans’ older babies are now becoming nannies in their own right. Siku, Wiva, and Kama — Sunyei, Wendi, and Kinna’s eldest girls — have emerged as Moe’s top babysitters.

Moe is playful, friendly, active and inquisitive. As we wait for the rains to break, it is very hot in Tsavo at the moment, but Mulika knows exactly what to do. Drawing from years of experience as a matriarch and mother, she rests with Moe in the shade through the heat of the day, travelling only during cooler hours.

One afternoon, Moe’s inquisitiveness got the better of him and he tumbled into the water trough outside the stockades. Mulika had a handle on the situation, but Moe was visibly stressed, so the Keepers decided to intervene. Incredibly, Mulika showed no alarm. She remained calm and waited for the Keepers to deposit her baby safely to her side. This is just one of countless examples of the trust our orphans, even those now living fully wild lives, place in us.

Mulika is a living, breathing reminder that today's orphans are future matriarchs, mothers, and grandmothers. In the fullness of time, little Moe will follow in his mother’s footsteps, presiding over northern Tsavo and starting his own branches of our ever-growing elephant family tree.

Moe is the 66th known calf born to an orphan we rescued, raised, and reintegrated back into the wild — and the fifth newborn in a month, following in the footsteps of Chapa, Sid, Miale, and Mwangaza! 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.