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SHELDRICK'S PICTURES

As part of our tour of Nairobi, we visited Sheldrick’s located just outside of town. In 1977, a trust was set up in David Sheldrick’s memory to take care of orphaned black rhinos and elephants. David and his wife Daphne pioneered techniques to raise these orphans and then reintroduce them to the wild. It’s delicate hand-rearing work which was extremely interesting to learn about!

Unfortunately, due to the rise in ivory poaching, most of the elephants are at Sheldrick's because their mothers have been killed by hunters. Others may have gotten separated from their mothers for some reason. The age range of the elephants vary from a few months to up to three years. Each elephant is assigned its own keeper, who acts as a surrogate mother and will stay with the elephant until it's released back into the wild.

Being orphaned is a very traumatic experience, so the keeper spends as much time as possible with the elephant in the first few days to lavish attention on it. Looking after the elephant involves feeding it, providing shade so that it doesn't get sunburned, and taking it for walks in the park as the elephant gets older. Once the elephant is old enough, it is transferred to Tsavo Game Park to begin the final part of its release back into the wild.

Jeff and I visited the orphanage between 11am and noon, as this is the only time they are open to the public. This is when the animals are given their noon feeding, and it was quite a sight to see! The babies were so cute, you just wanted to hug them.

A rope is drawn to keep you at a safe distance, and very informative volunteers were situated about every 15 feet. They explained what the keepers were doing with each animal and could answer any question you may have. These guides were experts and we learned an amazing amount of information about rhinos and elephants. This is a definite must see!


At Sheldrick's, you can become a foster parent to an elephant. Jeff and I have become the proud parents of Thoma! She was orphaned on the exact day of Jeff's mother's death, one year earlier. In fact, we're fostering her in honor of his mother's memory.

Thoma came from a small forest near Thomson's Falls in Kenya. She became separated from her family at night when they were driven out of nearby croplands. She was then loaded into a small crate intended for a trapped lion, and driven in the back of a truck to Mweiga Airfield near the Aberdare Park. When Sheldrick's came to get her, she was unconscious and barely breathing.

Since then, Thoma has recovered, and she's growing up nicely. She's become quite mischievous, and she likes to chase the warthogs around. She runs after them with her ears out like saucers and trying to squeeze out a squeaky trumpet! She's a joy to foster.

I strongly encourage you to check out Sheldrick's web site. There are wonderful photos on it and it's very informative and interesting to learn how they raise these orphans.

Sheldrick's web site:
www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org


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Copyright © 2002, Dawn M. Dalton.
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