Supporting community-led elephant rescue in Kenya

Through a new partnership with Reteti Elephant Sanctuary in northern Kenya, IFAW is helping rescue and rehabilitate orphaned elephants while strengthening coexistence between people and wildlife in the Samburu landscape. 

Problem 

Across northern Kenya, elephants share vast rangelands with pastoralist communities who rely on the land for their livelihoods. As climate pressures, habitat changes, and human-wildlife conflict increase, elephant calves can become separated from their herds or orphaned. And with drought as a part of regional life, elephants in northern Kenya face an elevated risk of falling into wells. 

Young elephants depend on their mothers for milk, protection, and social learning during the earliest years of life. Without their mothers, orphaned calves have little chance of surviving in the wild. 

At the same time, long-term conservation in this region depends on community leadership. Indigenous communities have managed these landscapes for generations, and successful conservation must support both wildlife and the people who live alongside it. 

Solution 

IFAW has partnered with Reteti Elephant Sanctuary, the world’s first Indigenous community-owned and community-led elephant rescue centre, located within the 850,000-acre Namunyak Community Conservancy in northern Kenya. 

Owned and operated by the Iocal Samburu people, Reteti was created from a simple but powerful idea: protecting wildlife and protecting pastoralist livelihoods go hand in hand. Their teams work together to rescue orphaned elephant calves and provide the specialised care they need to recover. 

During a rescue, the team waits up to 72 hours to give the mother every possible chance to return, before bringing the calf safely to Reteti. This patience has reunited over 40 lone elephant calves with their mothers. Once at the sanctuary, rescued calves receive round-the-clock care, including milk feeding, veterinary support, and the social comfort of other orphaned elephants.  

Keepers also sing softly to the calves during daily care. Singing to livestock is a long-held Samburu tradition, and these familiar melodies help calm the elephants and strengthen the bond between calves and caregivers. As they grow stronger, the calves begin spending more time exploring the surrounding landscape, gradually developing the skills they need to live independently. 

Since opening in 2016, Reteti has rescued more than 150 orphaned elephants, with dozens successfully returned to the wild. 

Through IFAW’s Room to Roam initiative, this new partnership will help expand rescue, rehabilitation, and rewilding efforts while strengthening the community-led conservation model that makes Reteti unique. 

Impact 

Reteti demonstrates how community-led conservation can protect wildlife while supporting people and their livelihoods. 

Elephants rescued at the sanctuary are given a second chance to grow, recover, and eventually return to the wild. Many have successfully rejoined wild herds in the surrounding landscape, contributing to the health of Kenya’s elephant populations. 

Stories like that of Long’uro, a calf rescued after losing part of his trunk to a hyena, show the resilience of these animals and the dedication of the people who care for them. With support from keepers and veterinarians, Long’uro now thrives as a unique elephant—browsing, playing, and bonding with his peers in his own way. 

By supporting Reteti, IFAW is helping strengthen a conservation approach where local communities lead the protection of wildlife and the landscapes they share. Together, we are giving orphaned elephants a second chance while helping ensure that people and wildlife can thrive side by side across northern Kenya.