What a wonderful foundation for baby elephants & rhinos that are orphaned because of poachers and man made environmental issues. Daphne Sheldrick created the foundation in 1977 in honor of her husband David.
"To a baby elephant, the family is all important,' Daphne explained. 'The babies are always severely traumatized on arrival, having witnessed the violent massacre of their elephant family at the hands of poachers or in human conflict situations, or having been separated from the herd during the panic of a stampede. Some grieve so painfully for their lost family that they give up the will to live. Others can be nurtured into a new life only if they can be convinced that there is a loving new family for them.'
The youngest elephants are covered with blankets (tied on with belts meade of pantyhose) so that they won't catch pneumonia, which is the greatest danger for a young elephant deprived of the body heat and sheltering of its mother. There are no early signs of pneumonia for an elephant who can not sneer or cough. It is only until the mucus starts streaming from their trunks that they know they are in danger. And then they will only have 2 hours to fight the sickness. Not very much time at all.
There are caretakers for each elephant. They are with them all day and sleep in their stables at night. The caretakers rotate so the elephants do not become too attached to one person. Affection and touch, are critical to replicate herd life if the elephants are to grow up to be well-balanced members of a wild herd.
Yes, after their rehab, the elephants are taken to the Sheldrick Trust Center in Tsavo National Park. There they are introduced to wild elephants. At night they are in a large stockade which protects them from predators at night. Every day they are released from the stockage and at some point they will decide not to return at night.
It is not a cliche that an elephant never forgets. 'They form strong bonds that last throughout their lives,' states Daphane, 'Eleanor was one of our first orphans. Shortly after she was born in 1958, her mother was killed by poachers in Samburu National Reserve. She is now the matriarch of a Tsavo herd, yet when one of our old keepers went to the park two years ago she rushed up to greet him without a mount's hesitation. It was 37 years since she had last seen him!'
We were also told that in recent visits, some elephants have shown their caves to the caretakers in Tsavo. Quite remarkable, that these orphans have been reintroduced to the herds and now are showing their babies to the caretakers. {sniff}
I have recently downloaded Daphane's latest book An African Love Story: Love, Life and Elephants. I am looking forward to learning more about this wonderful woman.
I hope you will enjoy the photos of our visit.
If you'd like more information on the foundation, please visit http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/asp/orphans.asp
If you are interested in adopting/fostering an elephant or a rhino, please visit http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/asp/fostering.asp
The youngest must be hand fed, because they have not mastered control of their trunks.
Here is a baby, who really wanted some water.
But didn't know how, so it kept splashing the water.
Finally the caretaker came over and hand fed it some water.
Clearly in control of it's truck.
When the group of the youngest elephants were leaving, this one, did not want to go. It was squealing just like a little child who didn't want to leave a party. Finally the caretakers were able to make it lead the others out. It eventually decided it was ok and started running. So incredibly cute.
Can't forget about the rhinos!
