At Reteti Elephant Sanctuary in northern Kenya, keepers line up with bottles of goat milk while songs are sung. Established in 2016, Africa’s first indigenous community-owned and run elephant sanctuary currently cares for 52 elephant calves within the Namunyak Community Conservancy.
The feeding ritual at Reteti begins before the baby elephants even appear from the nearby hills. Keepers prepare rows of bottles filled with goat milk as singing echoes across the landscape. The music serves a practical purpose alongside its cultural roots, creating a familiar environment for the young calves as they rush toward the feeding enclosure.
Namunyak Conservancy and the Singing Wells That Rescue Calves
Most of the sanctuary’s residents arrive after perilous beginnings in the rugged terrain of Samburu County. Operations officer Patricia Parkeri notes that about 70 per cent of the elephants end up falling into wells dug by community members to access water
. Young elephants often stumble into these watering holes created by the Samburu people—who sing as they draw water for their livestock in the morning—suffering injuries or getting separated from their families in the process.
DRAWING FROM CONSERVATIONReteti Elephant Sanctuary in Samburu is empowering localsSanctuary offers market for goat milkSanctuary employs localsReteti rescues and rehabilitates elephants#KBCniYetu pic.twitter.com/h8B6dKgoFO
When locals report a trapped or injured animal, rescue teams first assess whether the calf can be reunited with its mother. If rescue is necessary, staff step in to provide physical and emotional rehabilitation. Keeper Dorothy Lowakutuk helped save a newborn elephant named Nemparwai by patiently earning her trust.
We normally create community awareness, telling them that when they meet an elephant inside a well, they should contact us. We go to that place, rescue it and try to reunite it immediately with its mother.
Patricia Parkeri, Operations Officer, Reteti Elephant Sanctuary
Dorothy Lowakutuk and the Women Powering Community Conservation
Her early work included caring for a bruised newborn calf named Nemparwai, who arrived barely a week old with swollen eyes, bruises, and ears bearing the pink flush of a newborn calf.
Today, the sanctuary employs 1,200 people who are majorly from the local community, while about 1,250 women are supported by an initiative that sources approximately 680 litres of milk from the local community. Ecotourism revenue and donations are also ploughed back to assist the locals, funding classrooms, bursaries, and a touring Montessori school.
Tourism Growth and the Path Back to the Wild
Reteti provides an alternative for visitors seeking options beyond traditional Kenyan safari routes, blending wildlife interaction, local heritage, and grassroots conservation, with October highlighted as a high season. Aiming to unlock the undiscovered prospects of the Northern Kenya circuit, the Kenya Tourism Board is using the area as a foundation to expand local tourism.
Reteti was founded by Samburu elders working alongside Sri Lankan-born conservationist Katie Rowe, and of its board members, 90% are drawn from local communities. They are joined by the Sarara Foundation, which acts as Reteti’s operating and funding partner and is co-founded by Rowe, plus stakeholders including the Kenyan Wildlife Service and Save the Elephants. Authority over staffing, sanctuary operations, management, and tourism funds allocation—divided into 40% for running costs and 60% for local initiatives—rests with the board.
Once rehabilitated, elephants are prepared for a life back in the wild. When the elephants reach seven to nine years old, those journeys end with tearful goodbyes. Highlighting a major rehabilitation milestone, Parkeri mentioned that 23 elephants have successfully returned to the wild upon turning seven, while noting that any pachyderm that chooses to come back to the sanctuary is accepted with open arms. Staff have also developed techniques to manage aggressive elephants, using car tyres while training the elephants that help in safeguarding the trainer from being harmed.