After Being Released Back Into The Wild, Giraffe Visits Rangers Who Saved Her as a Baby
Twiggy the giraffe was just one week old when she was rescued from the Tsavo East National Park in Kenya.
In November 2021, rangers for the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, a Kenyan conservation organization, "received reports of a tiny giraffe who was - rather unsuccessfully - trying to pass herself off as a zebra,” the Trust recounts on its website.
“There were no other giraffes in the area, and as her survival instincts kicked in, she latched onto a passing herd of zebras.” When no adult giraffes turned up to reclaim her and with lone orphaned giraffes being easy prey for Tsavo's lions, the rangers decided there was no option but to rescue her.
When she had been safely restrained and after she had eagerly guzzled down a bottle of milk, the next issue was where to take the little giraffe. “We wanted Twiggy to grow up with plenty of friends, in an area also frequented by her own kind,” the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust reported. “This led us to our Kaluku Neonate Nursery, located in the heart of the Tsavo Conservation Area.”
“Twiggy would be surrounded by a menagerie of fellow orphans, and when the time was right, could join the thriving population of Maasai giraffes who call that area of Tsavo East home.”
For the next four years, Twiggy grew up in a peaceful oasis, protected from poachers and predators and raised among a colourful array of characters, including a buffalo, an eland and a warthog.
After four years at the sanctuary, Twiggy was finally old enough to head back into the wild, so in November 2025, she was “whisked away” by a male giraffe and joined her own herd. "We have seen her from a distance in the months since, but she has resolutely decided to remain in the wild,” the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust shared in a 2026 update. Then eight months later, Twiggy strolled back into the sanctuary "as if she had never left.”
“She was especially eager to catch up with her former keepers and spent the day reacquainting herself with everything that has unfolded since she's been gone,” the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust said. After a while and once she had said hello to everyone, she headed back into the Kenyan wilderness.
Here's a short video recording Twiggy's visit...
