Tytan the baby Black Rhino

I’m in Kenya volunteering on a literacy programme with a charity called Kenya Connect. We’re on our way from Nairobi, heading east to our base for the week in Wamunyu, when we stop off at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. They’re one of the oldest conservation organisations here, with a 49 year history of rescuing and reintroducing Kenyan wildlife. They open for an hour a day and we have tickets for us all.

There’s a palpable sense of excitement as the keepers lead two very young animals down to be fed.

They have a 17-month-old Black Rhino called Tytan and his best friend, a Zebra called Notty.

Here’s Tytan:

And here he is being fed:

Tytan’s story:

On September 7, 2025, the rangers in Borana Conservancy found Mumu, a resident female black rhino, dead at the bottom of a cliff. She had fallen while being pursued by a male rhino trying to mate with her. She left behind a seven-month-old calf, who had followed her down the cliff. He was found beside her body. Knowing he was in danger from predators, the rangers needed to rescue him urgently, but he vanished into rugged terrain. After a two-day search using drones, aircraft, and a helicopter, he was spotted on a camera trap, darted, and flown to Nairobi. He was named Tytan and taken to the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust’s Nairobi Nursery, arriving with a limp caused by his perilous descent down the cliff.

Tytan was wild and defensive at first, but gradually settled under the care of his keepers. A week later, he bonded with Notty, an orphaned Zebra with a strikingly similar backstory. Notty’s mother also died falling from a cliff. The two have become inseparable, sharing meals, browsing, and taking mud baths together.

Tytan’s leg injury has healed naturally, and he has grown into a gentle, affectionate rhino. The numbers of black rhinos in Kenya collapsed by 98% between 1970 and 1983 to just 350 individuals, before recovering to over a thousand today. Conservation efforts, and the rescuing of orphans are a vital way to protect the species. Tytan, the calf who overcame tragedy and isolation, is now being raised with the aim of an eventual return to the wild population of Black Rhino in Nairobi National Park.

Those lips and that tongue are something else!

Here’s Tytan enjoying browsing some leaves after his milk:

Tytan and Notty together:

It’s fascinating that they receive comfort from each other, given the death of their mothers.

The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust rescues, rehabilitates, and eventually reintegrates orphaned elephants and rhinos back into the wild. They have branches in the US, UK, Canada, and Kenya. They only open for an hour a day and have a high success rate in returning animals to wild lives. They are viewed as one of the most respected and ethical attractions in Kenya where Elephants can be seen.

Next they’re going to see if some Elephants want to come and use the specially-created watering hole for a bath. It could get messy!