29/06/2021
It is with profound sadness that we share the news that beloved orphan Maisha died on the afternoon of Saturday, 26th June 2021. Her passing was wholly unexpected and, in nearly half a century of working with elephants, both wild and orphaned, we have never seen something like what unfolded with her.
It began on Monday of last week, when the Keepers noticed that Maisha’s front legs were stiff. At this point, there was no cause for concern - sprains and tumbles are natural occurrences - but nonetheless the Keepers brought her back to the Ithumba stockades so she could recuperate under close supervision. Over the following days, however, the stiffness spread and left her unable to walk, lie down, drink or chew. Throughout, a whole team was working around the clock for Maisha, near and far: KWS vet Dr Poghon and his assistant flew to Ithumba, where they remained in situ for the week. We also consulted veterinarians from Nairobi and South Africa. Combining our collective knowledge and experience, we tried to make sense of this situation, but no one had ever witnessed something like this before. On two separate occasions, we flew down an aircraft with medication, collected blood for analysing, desperate to leave no avenue unexplored, but a cause of her illness could not be identified.
The other orphans were just as concerned about our little girl as we were and showed their support through a chorus of reassuring rumbles. Nabulu, Maisha’s sidekick from their Nursery days, was especially attentive and checked in on her friend throughout.
We battled on, feeding Maisha smoothies, combinations of milk and porridge, milk with ground lucerne, and plenty of rehydration. She did collapse but was brought round with drips and, on Thursday, regained some movement. We hoped that we were seeing a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel but it wasn’t to be. On Saturday morning, she collapsed again and at around 2 o’clock, Maisha closed her eyes and stopped breathing. She passed quietly, surrounded by the human family she loved so much.
To know Maisha was to know the embodiment of goodness. Her name meant the Swahili word for ‘life’ - and full of life and love for her friends is how we will remember her. She was loved by all and will be sorely missed by her Keepers, fellow orphans, foster parents and supporters across the world. Rest in peace our beloved, gentle and caring mini-matriarch, you will remain firmly in our hearts forever.
We've written a full update of events, which can be found at: https://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/news/updates/unexpected-loss-of-maisha
