Milk Mamas of Samburu nurture baby jumbos to life with goat milk

Driving through arid northern Kenya is like entering another world.

The morning sun is already scorching by 8am, the dry wind whipping up waves of dust across thorny shrubs and sandy roads.

Dry riverbeds stretch endlessly, security checks punctuate the highway, and the only signs of life are herds of healthy camels guided by children, or Samburu men and women adorned in bright beads around their necks, wrists, and ankles.

Their manyattas, patched with worn cloth and polythene, scatter across the rugged landscape. Schools and health facilities are absent here; instead, goats, gazelles and giraffes dart across the road, leaving traces of dung behind.

This arid terrain leads into the heart of Samburu, where an unlikely oasis of hope has emerged: the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary. Here, among the dusty plains, a quiet revolution is taking place.

Baby elephants, orphaned by drought, poaching, or human-wildlife conflict, are being raised with care and compassion right here in their homeland, with the help of the very community that shares the land with them.

And the secret to their survival? Goat milk, supplied daily by hundreds of Samburu women. “It might sound surprising, but goat’s milk is what keeps these calves alive,” says Naomi Leshongoro, one of Reteti’s pioneering elephant keepers.

“When we started, we used powdered baby formula, but it made the calves sick. Elephants are lactose intolerant when they are small, so cow’s milk and formula caused diarrhea. Goat’s milk turned out to be the perfect substitute — nutritious, gentle, and locally available. And by buying it from Samburu women, we are not just saving elephants, we are supporting families too.”

Since its founding in 2016, Reteti has rescued more than 100 elephant calves, many found wandering alone after their mothers died of drought, starvation, or poaching. Others were pulled from wells or abandoned when they were too weak to keep up with the herd.

Round-the-clock care

Thanks to community alerts and rapid-response rescues — sometimes involving helicopters — the calves are brought to Reteti for round-the-clock care. The work is grueling. Calves are fed every three hours, day and night, each drinking about two litres of goat milk per feed. “It’s like caring for a newborn,” Naomi says. “You must have patience and love.” So far, 23 elephants have been rewilded, with two already confirmed to have joined wild families in Sarara and Kalepo.

“Elephants are more like human beings. They don’t intermarry, males leave to find new families, and they even mourn their dead by covering carcasses with branches. That’s how intelligent they are. Here at Reteti, we give orphaned elephants a second chance to find those families again,” Naomi explains.  Behind Reteti’s success is an unlikely group of heroes: the Samburu women known as the Milk Mamas.

More than 1,200 women supply goat milk that sustains the calves — and in turn, this lifeline is transforming their lives.

At the local market, women gather each morning to deliver their milk. Among them is Nkoimalan Lalaur, a respected committee member, instantly recognisable in her blue and white neck beads and white shuka. Her task is crucial: tasting and testing every batch before it is approved for the elephants.

“I have been staying with these animals all my life. I know how each milk smells and tastes,” Nkoimalan says. “I can tell the difference between goat, cow, and camel milk just by smelling it. I can identify pure goat’s milk instantly. That’s the quality Reteti needs, and I make sure it’s what we deliver.”

Spoilt milk is rejected, and the woman who brought it forfeits her pay for the day. “It’s painful to lose Sh330,” Nkoimalan admits, “but it teaches you to do the right thing.”

Despite challenges like drought and lost goats, the women remain committed. “Sometimes we even choose to starve so that the elephants can have the right milk,” she adds. “Because we know this formula is their lifeline. They are surviving because of us, and we love them for it.”

The milk is sold at Sh180 a litre or Sh60 a cup. The income has allowed women to buy food, clothes, and pay school fees. Some reinvest in more goats, while others open bead-making shops. “This programme means we no longer have to sell our animals to survive,” Nkoimalan says. “We can support our families while also supporting the elephants. It’s a blessing.”

Covid-19 lock-downs

The initiative was born during crisis. When COVID-19 lockdowns halted importation of baby formula, Reteti turned to local goat milk out of necessity. What began as desperation has become a model of community-driven conservation.

At daybreak, around 6 am, the cycle repeats and the milk journey begins with Samburu women milking their goats. Any milk not needed for household use is taken to the milk market.

By 8am, the market opens. Motorcycle riders collect milk from more than 1,200 Milk Mamas across the conservancy, transporting it to Reteti.

At 9:30 am, the milk arrives at the sanctuary and is poured into solar-powered pasteurisers before being taken to the milk kitchen. Here, bottles are carefully prepared, white two-litre containers capped with brown pacifiers. By 11:45 am, the bottles are ready for the noon feed. Wheelbarrows help transport the milk to the elephant boma.

The baby elephants, jumpy and eager, dash towards their keepers as soon as they hear their names being called. As rangers sing to them, the calves grab the bottles from their keepers’ hands and gulp down the milk with playful excitement.

At noon, the feeding is in full swing. Each baby elephant drinks at least two litres every three hours. The freshly delivered milk will sustain them through the next eight feeds — a lifeline in bottles.

“What makes Reteti unique is that it is purely community-owned and run by the Samburu people themselves,” says Peter Lenasalia, manager of the sanctuary within Namunyak Wildlife Conservancy. “Our logo says it all: community united for elephants.”

Animal care here mirrors the intensity of a hospital ICU. Keepers check dung and urine, track feeding, and sterilise equipment daily. Rescues can involve elephants, giraffes, even ostriches. “It’s a daily, busy operation,” Peter says, “but we are always ready.”

Reteti has pioneered the rescue of calves as young as one week old. At age five, they begin weaning from milk, preparing for life in the wild.

Sometimes rescues mean reunions: more than 60 calves have been reintroduced to their mothers after short stays at Reteti. But for many, the sanctuary becomes home until they are rewilded.

Studies confirm what the Samburu women already know. According to the Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine, elephant milk contains nearly double the fat of cow milk but much less lactose. Goat milk, unlike cow milk, has a fat and lactose profile closer to elephant milk, making it easily digestible for calves and preventing the diarrhea common with formula feeding.

Climate change

A 2018 WWF report stressed the importance of species-specific diets in wildlife rehabilitation, warning that improper feeding is a leading cause of calf mortality. Reteti’s discovery that goat milk mirrors elephant milk has become a global case study in conservation science.

Kenya’s elephant population has clawed its way back from near-collapse. From about 16,000 elephants in the late 1980s, the number rose to over 36,000 by 2021, according to Kenya Wildlife Service. Northern Kenya, including Samburu, Isiolo, and Laikipia, hosts some of the most resilient herds.

But climate change, poaching, and human-wildlife conflict remain threats. Prolonged droughts have left many calves orphaned as mothers die of hunger and thirst. As water and grazing shrink, elephants increasingly clash with communities.

Reteti sits at this crossroads, offering a lifeline not just to elephants but also to the Samburu people. 

For World Animal Protection (WAP), Reteti is proof that wildlife conservation must keep animals in the wild. “While temporary care is sometimes necessary, the ultimate goal must always be to return elephants to their natural environment,” says Tennyson Williams, WAP’s Africa Director.

The partnership, launched on World Elephant Day, uplifts both elephants and Samburu women. “This not only gives the elephants a lifeline,” Williams explains, “but also creates an income stream for women. One woman who started with a single litre of milk can now trade hundreds.”

WAP also praised Reteti’s innovations, from GPS collars for tracking rewilded elephants to ranger patrols led by locals. “There can be no Reteti without the community,” Williams emphasises. “This is the sustainable model we need to replicate across Africa.”

If the elephants could speak, Peter believes they would thank the Samburu people. “Imagine leaving your child behind and someone gives them another chance at life. That’s what we do,” he says. “Even after rewilding, you see it in their behaviour — they respect humans. They remember. They are ready to coexist.”

For Samburu women like Nkoimalan, the meaning runs deeper. “These elephants are our children now,” she says. “They survive because of our milk, and we survive because of them.”