On September 30, 2025, rangers from the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and Kenya Wildlife Service were running a training exercise with their canine unit north of the Galana River when they found an 8-month-old elephant wandering alone.
Young elephants typically nurse until they are about three years old, but there were no mothers — or even herds — in the calf’s vicinity.
Rangers from the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, a conservation organization that specializes in rescue and rehabilitation, surmised that a pack of lions had scared off his herd near a local watering hole.
“We suspect that he was one of the calves from the large Dabaduki herd, which frequent the watering points near Lali,” the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust stated on its website. “Dabaduki in Somali means ‘tail’ or ‘behind,’ so he was named Daba — left behind.”
After the Kenya Wildlife Service had confirmed that the calf had been fully abandoned, the elephant was transferred to the organization’s Voi Reintegration Unit.
“Little Daba spent time at Voi, but his condition wasn’t improving,” the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust recounted. “In mid-October, the decision was made to bring him up to our Nairobi Nursery, where we could ensure a gentler environment and specialist care.”
In Nairobi, Daba quickly adapted to his new family: Muridjo, Wamata, Arthi, and Alia — a herd of other orphaned elephants raised within the sanctuary.
“Wamata and Arthi were a bit disgruntled to meet yet another newbie who threatened to dethrone their ‘spoiled baby’ status, but everyone else was very welcoming,” the nonprofit joked. “Muridjo, the new mini matriarch of the nursery herd, has taken him under her wing and is always looking out for him.”
Today, Daba is 20 months old. The keepers at the sanctuary have noted a few “funny” habits that he’s picked up over time.
“For instance, he has mapped out the times and locations of all the milk feeds and is constantly scheming to get there early,” the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust said. “One memorable morning, he snuck away from the herd and ambled towards the stockades, hoping to circumvent the milk wheelbarrow on its way out.”
“When that plan was foiled, he made a beeline for the mud bath. Finding neither milk bottles nor keepers to feed him, he began trumpeting in protest.”
Daba has also been known to dabble in some “naughty” behavior at night.
“Although he is fed every three hours, day and night, he becomes quite impatient. When he hears milk being prepared outside, he stretches his trunk up to his keeper’s bunk bed and snatches the blanket right off the sleeping man,” the nonprofit wrote.
“If this is not effective, he moves on to Plan B. Somehow — a skill most elephants of his age have not yet mastered — he balances on his hind legs and plonks his front legs on the edge of the bed, waking his keeper with a trunk kiss.”
Between his human keepers and his found family of elephants, Daba has come a long way from his days wandering Galana Ranch alone.
“Daba has already been through a lot in his short life. While we will never know how he came to be orphaned, it clearly affected him deeply,” the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust said.
“But now that he is settling in, growing in strength and confidence, a bright and clever young elephant is emerging. Our little boy who was ‘left behind’ will never be alone again.”
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Featured Image: Sheldrick Wildlife Trust
