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Nemparwai was barely a week old when she arrived at north Kenya’s Reteti elephant sanctuary. Her eyes were swollen shut, her body bruised after falling into a well, and her ears still bore the pink flush of a newborn calf. Keeper Dorothy Lowakutuk had driven through the night to reach her, crossing rain-soaked plains as storm clouds gathered over the forested peaks of the Lenkiyo Hills, known internationally as the Matthews Range. Now came the harder part: earning the young elephant’s trust.
Lowakutuk spent that night – and the next – by Nemparwai’s side, talking to her, singing, shedding tears. On the second day came a breakthrough, as Nemparwai warily scooped milk from Lowakutuk’s cupped hands and finally began to feed.
“She became my baby,” says Lowakutuk, recalling the rescue. “When I sat next to her, she would lie across my legs to sleep. She wouldn’t take her milk unless I was near. She gave me kisses and made me feel so happy that I had saved her.”
