Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Elephant Orphanage
11 images 1 contributors Shoot with care
Sue Wolfe
Shoot with care
Human contact with the orphan elephants is limited to help make their transition back into the wild easier.
About this spot
Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is the most successful orphan elephant rescue and rehabilitation program in the world. Based in Nairobi National Park, the organization not only raises and returns elephants to the wild, it also has an extensive program outside of the orphanage with anti-poaching and veterinary teams throughout Kenya.
Elephant calves are milk dependent for the first two years of life and will not survive if their mother dies. Rescues are taken to the nursery in Nairobi for rehabilitation. In the orphanage, the baby is given around-the-clock care, even sleeping with its “keeper.” Their caregiver wakes up every two to three hours for feeding time. It is no wonder there is a strong bond formed between them. They are weaned around 3-4 years of age and as they become more familiar with their plant diet, they graduate to a reintegration unit. These areas provide the perfect place for youngsters to meet wild, “older” elephants who pass through the region. These units are fully protected and patrolled by the Anti-Poaching and Aerial teams. The reintegration process can take up to ten years and varies with each animal. The orphan remains until it decides to leave the Unit. As of 2022, the Trust has raised 316 orphans.
The orphanage is open to the public from 11:00 to 12:00 every day except Christmas. During this hour with the elephants, you will observe the keepers bottle-feeding the herd. In the viewing area there is also a waterhole for taking mud baths. Only Keepers are allowed to feed and interact with them, however, an occasional elephant may come up to the rope fence to check out the crowd.
The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust was established in 1977 by Daphne Sheldrick in memory of her husband David, the founding warden of Tsavo, Kenya’s largest national park. She was the first person to perfect the formula needed to raise infant elephants and rhinos. After David’s death, the family created the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust to secure safe areas and to work with surrounding communities.
The organization has 23 anti-poaching teams that work to combat ivory, bushmeat and rhino horn poaching in partnership with the Kenya Wildlife Service. The Rangers are supported by canine and aerial units who help deter and prevent illegal wildlife activity.
Six Mobile Veterinary Units cover vast areas including Tsavo, the Masai Mara, Meru and Amboseli. The vets respond to calls from snares and gunshot wounds to injuries caused by human-wildlife conflict. Their services are not limited to elephants—their patient list also includes rhinos, giraffe, zebra, lions, and other wildlife in distress.
Elephant calves are milk dependent for the first two years of life and will not survive if their mother dies. Rescues are taken to the nursery in Nairobi for rehabilitation. In the orphanage, the baby is given around-the-clock care, even sleeping with its “keeper.” Their caregiver wakes up every two to three hours for feeding time. It is no wonder there is a strong bond formed between them. They are weaned around 3-4 years of age and as they become more familiar with their plant diet, they graduate to a reintegration unit. These areas provide the perfect place for youngsters to meet wild, “older” elephants who pass through the region. These units are fully protected and patrolled by the Anti-Poaching and Aerial teams. The reintegration process can take up to ten years and varies with each animal. The orphan remains until it decides to leave the Unit. As of 2022, the Trust has raised 316 orphans.
The orphanage is open to the public from 11:00 to 12:00 every day except Christmas. During this hour with the elephants, you will observe the keepers bottle-feeding the herd. In the viewing area there is also a waterhole for taking mud baths. Only Keepers are allowed to feed and interact with them, however, an occasional elephant may come up to the rope fence to check out the crowd.
The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust was established in 1977 by Daphne Sheldrick in memory of her husband David, the founding warden of Tsavo, Kenya’s largest national park. She was the first person to perfect the formula needed to raise infant elephants and rhinos. After David’s death, the family created the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust to secure safe areas and to work with surrounding communities.
The organization has 23 anti-poaching teams that work to combat ivory, bushmeat and rhino horn poaching in partnership with the Kenya Wildlife Service. The Rangers are supported by canine and aerial units who help deter and prevent illegal wildlife activity.
Six Mobile Veterinary Units cover vast areas including Tsavo, the Masai Mara, Meru and Amboseli. The vets respond to calls from snares and gunshot wounds to injuries caused by human-wildlife conflict. Their services are not limited to elephants—their patient list also includes rhinos, giraffe, zebra, lions, and other wildlife in distress.
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