wildlife rangers reunite giraffe calf and mother near Amboseli National Park

Earlier this year, a giraffe mother near Kenya’s Amboseli National Park became separated from her week-old calf after the pair was scared away by a herd of livestock.

Community members alerted a team of IFAW’s Olgulului Community Wildlife Rangers (OCWR) located at an outpost two kilometers away from the calf. These rangers are responsible for protecting and patrolling the incredibly biodiverse 1,500 square kilometers of community lands shared by the people and wildlife surrounding Amboseli.

They responded immediately and began searching for the mother. Unable to find her by the evening, they transported the lone calf back to their outpost where she spent the night inside one of the rangers’ houses to keep her safe from domestic dogs, hyenas, and other potentially deadly threats.

Throughout the night, the rangers checked on the calf and fed her cow's milk they had sourced from neighbouring homes.

The following morning, they woke up early to set to work tracking the mother's footprints from where they had left off the previous day. Luckily, the rangers spotted the mother seven kilometers away from the spot where the calf had been rescued.

Now it was time to guide the calf back to her mother. Three rangers surrounded her—one on either side of her and another behind—and slowly nudged her toward an open area close to where the ranger had spotted the mother. As soon as the mother was in sight, her calf ran toward her. The pair quickly reunited and walked side by side toward Amboseli.

Much to the relief of the patrol team, they were able to confirm that the mother and calf were still together and doing well the following day. The two were seen heading towards a swamp for a drink.

In addition to reuniting lost calves with their mothers, the OCWR rangers serve as a critical first line of defense against the poaching and retaliatory killing of giraffes, elephants, lions, cheetahs, and other iconic wildlife in and around Amboseli National Park.