THE ANIMAL DOCTOR THE CREATURE COMFORTER

Dr Stephen Ngulu, wildlife veterinarian

Working as a resident vet carries considerable prestige for Stephen Ngulu, who monitors Ol Pejeta’s animals and assists with wildlife management. But he also shoulders a burden of responsibility.

“It is very painful when you have been treating an animal for some time and it doesn’t make it,” he sighs. “Sometimes you ask yourself, ‘Why could I not save them’?”

In the series, Stephen faced a difficult moment when treating sick lion Sekela, who has been injured. “Initially, I had made the decision to euthanise her,” he recalls, “but after consultation with a senior colleague, we decided to give her a second chance. Because lions are very resilient animals, she came out of it alive.”

Those episodes of elation spur Stephen to continue doing a job he loves and regards as vital, but he admits there are times when his own life has been in danger. Darting elephants is one of the most challenging tasks.

Captured on film, Stephen was called to remove the afterbirth still hanging from a female. “The difficulty was dealing with her one-week-old baby, who wouldn’t go anywhere,” he says. “In the end we drove them both into a herd of elephants, who took care of the calf.”

Timing is crucial when dealing with animals such as elephants and rhinos. “The most critical thing is to be prepared,” he explains.

Unfortunately, things can go wrong – such as the occasion when a dart didn’t discharge properly, leaving a baby sedated but the angry mother fully awake. “Two females were trying to overrun our car and rangers were shooting continuously in the air,” he explains. “We had three minutes to work on the animals; it felt like three days.”

The highs, however, far outweigh the lows. “It is a fulfilling job; you get tangible results,” enthuses Stephen.

Abraham Njenga cares deeply for animals; black rhino Lola and calf Lottie, below

When you work alongside animals for such a long time, they become like members of your family, says Abraham Njenga, who is involved in overseeing every aspect of rhino care and rehabilitation. Those emotions make it hard to accept some of nature’s cruel realities, demonstrated by the story of Lola and her calf in the series.

Born in a boma and released back into the wild, Lola still recognises Abraham’s voice. “When I call her name, she comes up to say hi and then goes away again,” he says, fondly. During filming, however, her young calf was killed by a lion.

“We develop a real connection with these animals, so we feel bad when something like that happens,” admits Abraham. “For me, I see these animals as my kids; I care for them in the same way. When you release them back into the wild, it’s like sending them to school on the first day. You’d prefer them to stay at home, but you know they have to go.”

Although working with Ol Pejeta’s four-legged residents is an emotional rollercoaster, Abraham says the toughest part of his job involves dealing with people. Whenever problem animals have strayed into surrounding communities, the team must intervene and push them back into the conservation area.

“I remember a time we were called to assist with elephants,” he recalls. “Everyone turned up to make noise and throw stones at the animals. It was very hard to control.”

Mitigating community and wildlife conflict is, however, an important part of his job. Besides, any frustrations quickly evaporate the moment he receives news of a newborn rhino calf.

“That make me truly excited,” he says. “It gives me great satisfaction to know we are making big strides when it comes to conservation.”