Twiggy the giraffe was just one week old when she was rescued from the Tsavo East National Park in Kenya.
On November 29, 2021, rangers for the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, a Kenyan conservation organization, paused their anti-poaching patrol to track a baby giraffe through the bush.
“Earlier that day, we had received reports of a tiny giraffe who was — rather unsuccessfully — trying to pass herself off as a zebra,” the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust recounted on its website. “There were no other giraffes in the area, and as her survival instincts kicked in, she latched onto a passing herd of zebras.”
They waited hours to see if the giraffe had a mother nearby, but no adults approached.
“While the zebras gracefully accepted her presence, she made an easy target for predators, particularly Tsavo’s infamous lions, who were as it turns out not terribly far from her location,” the organization said. “Dusk was fast approaching, and if she was to survive the night she’d need help, so the Kenya Wildlife Service requested a rescue take place.”
It wasn’t an easy task. Even at just a week old, giraffes have a lot of kicking power.
“The undertaking took plenty of mettle on the part of our team,” the post continued. “While they drove slowly alongside the orphan, our field works manager leapt out of the vehicle and, with one decisive action, successfully restrained her.”
As the sun dipped on the horizon, the team sought shelter across the Voi River at Sheldrick Wildlife Trust’s closest sanctuary.
“[We] immediately plied her with a bottle of milk, which she drank without hesitation,” the organization said. “Given her eagerness, we can only imagine how long it had been since her last meal.”
Tucked away from predators with a belly full of milk, Twiggy was in safe hands. With immediate care out of the way, the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust needed to choose her next home.
“We wanted Twiggy to grow up with plenty of friends, in an area also frequented by her own kind,” the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust reported. “This led us to our Kaluku Neonate Nursery, located in the heart of the Tsavo Conservation Area.”
“Twiggy would be surrounded by a menagerie of fellow orphans, and when the time was right, could join the thriving population of Maasai giraffes who call that area of Tsavo East home.”
For the next four years, Twiggy grew up in a peaceful oasis, protected from poachers and predators and raised among a colorful array of characters, including Mkubwa the buffalo, Susu the eland, Kwale the hartebeest, and Scooter the warthog.
In the stockade, her “next door neighbor” was an orphaned elephant named Little Rokka.
“From the outset, they spent most evenings chatting in the wonderful way of animals,” the organization recounted. “Of course, being such a fiery elephant, Rokka couldn’t resist a few naughty antics. She became convinced that Twiggy had a better stash of greens and made several attempts to sneak into her stockade.”
Fortunately, Twiggy didn’t seem to mind.
“On the rare occasion that she was successful, Twiggy just stood by as Rokka tucked into her branches.”
Every day, Twiggy would walk around the nature reserve, plucking leaves from native trees and exploring the land with her menagerie of companions.
“After a day of adventures, she eagerly returns to her bedroom,” the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust said in 2022. “Her keeper sleeps in a raised bunk in her stockade, and Twiggy likes to check on him at night by poking her delicate head through the mosquito net. We are all enchanted by this brave, unflappable little giraffe.”
After four years at the Kaluku sanctuary, Twiggy was finally old enough to rejoin the Kenyan wilderness. In November 2025, she was “whiskyed away” by a male giraffe and joined her own herd.
“We have seen her from a distance in the months since, but she has resolutely decided to remain in the wild,” the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust shared in a 2026 update.
Then eight months later, on July 5, 2026, Twiggy “strolled up to Kaluku as if she had never left.”
“She was especially eager to catch up with her former keepers and spent the day reacquainting herself with everything that has unfolded since she's been gone,” the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust said.
“Even after all the time that has passed, Twiggy clearly knows that she always has a home at Kaluku. We’re not sure how long she will stay this time, but we are delighted to have her back in the fold.”
The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust shared video footage of Twiggy’s return on YouTube.
“The level of trust this giraffe shows is a reflection of the kind and gentle ways you show her,” one YouTuber user commented.
“Lovely that she will always have a home where she is treasured,” wrote another.
“I adopted Twiggy last year,” another user wrote, referring to the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust’s virtual adoption program for orphaned animals. “I am thrilled to see my darling again.”
Watch Twiggy's return in the video below:
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Featured Image: Sheldrick Wildlife Trust
