When Gratitude becomes Tradition continued
Tumaren coming back twice is the part that got me. Once, with Tembo, is gratitude. Coming back again with Tuck makes it a tradition. Ross Bolton
Following up on last week’s story about the extraordinary tradition of ex-orphan elephants introducing their wild born babies to the people who raised them meet the latest, Comet, the 95th documented wild born baby of an ex-orphan! In the early hours of October 2nd 2026, ex-orphan Chaimu arrived at the Ithumba stockades with a newly born baby girl trundling behind her. Proving again that elephants never forget the love and care they received from their human family after tragically losing their elephant families.
Photo Credit DSWT
Chaimu, was rescued on the slopes of the Chyulu hills in southern Kenya June 4th 2009. Rangers received reports of an abandoned calf but could not locate the orphan. They searched for two days before the calf, about a year old, was found and secured by the staff of a nearby lodge. It was not known if the youngster was a victim of drought or poaching. What was evident was that she had walked over 22 kilometers from where she was originally sighted through waterless terrain before being finally rescued. Named Chaimu she was airlifted and taken to the DSWT Nursery in Nairobi to begin her healing and recovery under the 24/7 care of the experienced keepers.
How Chaimu survived such an odyssey — and why she embarked upon it in the first place — remains a mystery. Perhaps she was searching for her family or hiding from whatever trauma had taken them from her.
Chaimu June 4, 2009 Photo Credit DSWT
It takes a team to lift a baby elephant. Photo Credit DSWT
Little Chaimu at the Nursery Photo credit DSWT
She arrived at the Nursery terribly frightened of people — 11 months old, she was old enough to have internalised whatever circumstances left her orphaned and was very suspicious as a result. Added to that, she was passing blood and was sightless in one eye, with the other turning ominously milky as well.
But against the odds, Chaimu flourished. Working with an eye specialist, we got topsides of her eye issues and she regained full sight. With time, her condition improved and her body filled out. Trust took longer to build, but as the weeks wore on, Chaimu came to understand that she was safe and loved.
After finding her feet at the Nursery, Chaimu graduated to our Ithumba Reintegration Unit, where she went on to reclaim her place in the wild. In September 2024, she first became a mother in a most remarkable manner — she gave birth right outside the stockades! Chapa, as we named her son, was an absolute delight.
But then, Chapa's story took a tragic turn. Just before Christmas, after an absence of more than a month, Chaimu arrived at the stockades — without her infant son. His loss remains a complete mystery. Chaimu did not seem distressed or dispirited; in fact, she was behaving perfectly normally. Whatever happened, she had clearly already processed the loss. Notes from the Keepers’ Diaries
Little Comet finds a shady spot under her mother’s belly. Photo Credit DSWT
I learned that Chaimu and my former fostered elephant Tumaren are good friends so little Comet will have Tumaren’s new baby Tuck as a playmate. There have been ample rains lately, Tsavo is green and lush, thankfully the new mothers will have plenty of new growth to nourish themselves.
Watch this 70 second video of Chaimu and little Comet.
Not only do elephants have incredible memories and strong bonds of familial love, they also have an extraordinary ability of foreseeing events before they happen. How else to explain the timely appearance of ex-orphans who always show up to greet the graduates from the Nairobi Nursery upon their arrival at the reintegration units kilometers away from the city? Or the amazing story about Laurence Anthony, author of The Elephant Whisperer, who died alone while on a business trip in Johannesburg, South Africa. The elephants he rescued and moved to his Conservancy far away from the city, came to his home the day he died. How did the reserve's elephants living so far away know of their human friend’s death?
Elephant’s have an enigmatic quality that calls me to return time and again to watch and observe them in the wild. I’m very excited that next year’s safari includes three nights at Ithumba. Chaimu and Tumaren aren’t subscribers to this post, but who knows, perhaps they, or some of the orphaned elephants I’ve fostered over the years, will show up to say hello!
The Blessing from The Wisdom of Elephants by Kathy Karn ©kathykarn
