Take a day out of Nairobi’s hustle and bustle and head to David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. Witness and assist with the protection and preservation of Africa’s wilderness. Admire the wildlife and the trust as you see and learn about the care for orphaned elephants and many other animals.
The David Sheldrick National Wildlife Trust is an orphan-elephant rescue organization, devoted to conserving East Africa’s wildlife and habitats. Founded in 1977 by Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick in honor of her late husband and famous Warden of Tsavo East National Park, David Sheldrick, the trust is one of the most successful elephant and rhino rescue programs in the world.
Your day begins with a leisurely drive to the trust’s animal park outside Nairobi, home to many orphaned cubs. Witness the care and love the trust has for its baby elephants and rhinos, learning about the conservation of the animal calves and how they were rescued from all over the country from the poachers who hunted their parents. The calves undergo a variety of special treatments before they are let out into the wilds of Tsavo East National Park. Meet the 6 trustees who help manage the program.
David Sheldrick National Wildlife Trust rehabilitates baby elephants and other wildlife at her home just outside of Nairobi National Park. These babies have lost their mothers to poaching, death, injuries, on getting lost in the wild or other tragedies. Daphne and her dedicated staff raise them to be released back into the wild when they are ready. It is strictly open between 11am and 12 noon. It’s worth visiting and witnessing the humanitarian care to the wildlife and the heart it takes to care for them. Come learn the elephant’s unique stories of how they got there, their names and what plans are there to release them. By 2008, the Trust had successfully raised over 82 infant African Elephant calves. Others are still in the gradual process of reintegration, and others yet are in early infancy at the Daphne Sheldrick Elephant & Rhino Nursery.
The Sanctuary has a team of competent Elephant Keepers who take the place of the orphan’s lost elephant family, until such time as their transition to the wild herds has been accomplished. This can take up to 10 years, since elephants develop through age progression. You make a Safari to Kenya and on you last day you visit Sheldrick National wildlife trust.
