Mweya's Story

A female calf born in January 2001 in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda; estimated age just days old when rescued. Age on arrival in our Nursery - 1 month.

This baby was unique, being Ugandan as opposed to all the other Kenyan orphans we have rescued. She simply wandered into a fishing village near Lake George in Queen Elizabeth National Park, was thereafter transported across the Channel in a fishing boat and dumped back in the bush, because her rescuers didn't know what else to do! Fortunately, word got out, and she was re-captured by an expatriate who had heard about her, and taken to the Uganda Education Centre, where she was cared for round the clock by expatriate volunteers and two National Park Rangers with telephone instructions from us in Nairobi.

Meanwhile, the ponderous bureaucracy of getting an elephant across a territorial boundary had to be tackled, which involved 6 long weeks. Eventually, however, "Mweya" (named by the Ugandans) arrived on the 27th February 2001 by Helicopter.

Mweya's Story

A female calf born in January 2001 in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda; estimated age just days old when rescued. Age on arrival in our Nursery - 1 month.

This baby was unique, being Ugandan as opposed to all the other Kenyan orphans we have rescued. She simply wandered into a fishing village near Lake George in Queen Elizabeth National Park, was thereafter transported across the Channel in a fishing boat and dumped back in the bush, because her rescuers didn't know what else to do! Fortunately, word got out, and she was re-captured by an expatriate who had heard about her, and taken to the Uganda Education Centre, where she was cared for round the clock by expatriate volunteers and two National Park Rangers with telephone instructions from us in Nairobi. Meanwhile, the ponderous bureaucracy of getting an elephant across a territorial boundary had to be tackled, which involved 6 long weeks. Eventually, however, "Mweya" (thus named by the Ugandans) arrived on the 27th February 2001 by Helicopter.

She was tiny for her age, but what she lacked in size, she certainly made up in character - an extremely forceful and playful little elephant with a strong personality and a mind of her own! She was held in the Uganda Education Centre which she shared with some chimpanzees, who obviously gave her a very hard time, but she proved well able to look after herself and them!

Mweya is now an ex-orphan in Tsavo East National Park who sometimes visit the Voi stockades every now and then.

Adopt Mweya for yourself or as a gift.

Adopt Mweya for yourself or as a gift.

Current Age

23 years old

Gender

Female

Rescued date

27 February 2001

Rescue Location

Uganda, Queen Elizabeth Park

Date of Birth (approximate)

1 January 2001

Reason Orphaned

Man-made cause for separation

Age at Rescue

1 month old (approx)

Current Location

Living Wild

Mweya's featured photos

Our digital adoption programme includes the following:

Personalised adoption certificate.

Monthly email update on your orphan and the project.

Monthly watercolour by Angela Sheldrick.

Access to special content; latest Keepers' Diaries, videos and photos

Give Mweya the gift of life by adopting today.

Mweya's Calves

Meet Mweya's wild born offspring.

Mwitu

Female

Mwitu is the first wild-born calf of Mweya, born in the height of the dry season. We first met Mwitu on 15th November, when Mweya and Edie - with her new calf Eco - travelled back to our Voi Reintegration Unit after the rains to share their new babies with their human family and the dependent Voi orphan herd. This photo is of Mwitu and Eco on morning of 18th November 2019. Read more

Mojo

Male

Mojo was Mweya's second baby, following in the footsteps of big sister, Mwitu. He was born in September 2022, at the height of the drought in Tsavo. As a newborn, he made the incredible journey back to Voi, navigating some 100 kilometres of drought-stricken plains. Tragically, on 5th November 2022 Mweya and Mwitu returned to the Voi stockades after a week's absence, without Mojo. A mother would never leave her infant, unless the very worst had happened. Read more

Latest updates featuring Mweya

The Tragic Loss of Mojo

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Mweya’s Journey Home to Debut Mojo

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Edie Becomes a Mother of Four

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Mweya's latest photos

Laikipia, Mweya, and Edie at the stockades

Mwitu, Mweya, Thamana enjoying Lucerne

Mweya, Kihari and friends browsing

Mweya

Mweya and Mwitu

Mweya and Mwitu, with Eden hidden behind

Mweya and Mwitu

From left Mwitu, Mweya, Tahri and Edie