Naomi, one of the dedicated keepers at Reteti Elephant Sanctuary and one of the very first indigenous Samburu women keepers in Africa, caresses Shaba, the sanctuary's proxy matriarch, captured here by.
Shaba was rescued in November 2016, when poachers shot her mother.
She arrived traumatized, and it took the team a long time to gain her trust, spending day and night talking, singing, offering seed pods and fresh grass, anything they could think of.
Then one day she finally took a bottle and a strong bond was formed.
She became the matriarch of the herd, keeping order, teaching the young ones how to forage and navigate steep paths, and, most incredibly, greeting every new orphan with sensitivity.
In November 2019, Shaba was returned to the wild and she is thriving today.