Mukwaju's Story

A male calf born approximately 11th September 1999 and aged about 3 weeks when orphaned. This little bull got stuck in the mud of the Satao Camp waterhole at a place called Mukwaju in Tsavo East National Park. He was rather a weakling at the time, probably the first born of a young mother suffering the affects of drought exacerbated by the fires that ravaged Tsavo at that time; about 1000 plus elephants were drinking at Satao waterhole so there was intense competition for water amongst the thirst-crazed herds, with each Matriarch desperate to ensure the survival of her particular family. In the struggle to gain access for water during the dry seasons, when survival supersedes normal good elephant behaviour, there is often aggression as older more senior Matriarchs insist on taking precedence over those younger. Mukwaju's young mother tried desperately to rescue him from the mud before being driven off, in the process inadvertently puncturing the skin behind his right ear with a tusk leaving a deep wound that became infected and which needed months of attention. Apparently, his mother returned the next day to try and find him, sadly too late, because by then he was already in Nairobi. However, whilst it is regrettable that he was not able to be reunited with his mother, it is also doubtful whether he would have survived without special care.The memory of being stuck remained vivid, and he was always very reluctant to go into the mud wallow with the others, irrespective of the heat. He grew into a fine adult bull and is also now free in Tsavo East National Park.