Then, our SWT/KWS Canine Unit was on a training patrol when they came across the young giraffe, still on her own. Using their tracking skills, they covertly monitored her for the morning to ascertain if her mother was nearby. To absolutely confirm her situation, Taru Carr-Hartley then flew the helicopter overhead and found no other giraffe in the area. (We later discovered the body of an adult female giraffe who had been killed by lions. This must have been the orphan's mother.)The young orphan was already on borrowed time — it was a miracle that she hadn't been killed by lions herself. We had to rescue her before she disappeared again. However, it was a real mission: she was dizzyingly quick, determined to evade us, and the perfect size and colour to camouflage herself.