Twiggy the Giraffe Finds Her Way Back to the Friends Who Raised Her
On July 5, 2026, a familiar visitor walked into the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust’s Kaluku nursery in Kenya: Twiggy, a giraffe who had spent her early years there before joining a wild herd. Her return gave the keepers who had cared for her a chance to welcome her once more.
Twiggy’s story began in Tsavo East National Park on November 29, 2021. She was only about a week old when rangers on an anti-poaching patrol went looking for a young giraffe spotted traveling with zebras. The herd had accepted her, but no adult giraffes were nearby. After waiting to see whether her mother would appear, the team grew concerned about predators as evening approached. At the Kenya Wildlife Service’s request, they brought Twiggy to safety.
The rescue took care: even a tiny giraffe can deliver a powerful kick. That night, the team took her across the Voi River to a Sheldrick Wildlife Trust sanctuary, where she eagerly drank a bottle of milk.
Soon afterward, Twiggy moved to the trust’s Kaluku Neonate Nursery in the Tsavo Conservation Area. There, she could grow up among other rescued animals in a region where Maasai giraffes also live.
Over the next four years, Twiggy explored the reserve and shared her days with an unusual circle of companions, including Mkubwa the buffalo, Susu the eland, Kwale the hartebeest and Scooter the warthog. Her neighbor, an orphaned elephant named Little Rokka, occasionally managed to slip into Twiggy’s space to eat her branches. Twiggy appeared happy to let her.
Twiggy also formed a close bond with her keepers. At night, she sometimes poked her head through the mosquito net around a keeper’s bunk, as if checking that he was still there.
In November 2025, Twiggy left Kaluku with a male giraffe and joined a wild herd. The trust later reported seeing her from a distance, but she stayed in the wilderness—until her July visit.
According to the trust, Twiggy spent the day reconnecting with her former keepers and taking in the place where she had grown up. Whether she would stay for long was uncertain, but her warm welcome was not.
“Even after all the time that has passed, Twiggy clearly knows that she always has a home at Kaluku,” the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust said.
