Monday, May 10, 2010

Elephant Orphanage History

The last day that we were in Kenya, my dad set up a visit to the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. Here's a little bit of history on the orphanage.

The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is a small flexible charity, established in memory of David Sheldrick, famous Naturalist and founder Warden of Kenya's giant Tsavo East National Park in which he served from 1948 until 1976.

Since its inception in 1977 the Trust has played an extremely significant and important role in Kenya's conservation effort. Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick along with Six Trustees assisted by an Advisory Committee of practical Naturalists with a lifetime experience of African conditions oversee and direct the operations of the Trust.

Helping save the lives of orphaned Elephants and Rhinos who are ultimately released back into the wild is just some of the many wildlife commitments The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is involved in. The Trust runs seven full time Desnaring teams, two mobile Veterinary Units, and is active in a Community Outreach Program along with working with the communities in an educational capactiry locally, and through articles for the Wildlife Clubs of Kenya, the Press and Radio Programs. The Trust has also provided advanced training in wildlife management for promising students.

The Trust continues to provide a blueprint for the welfare of animals in captivity and, in the case of elephants, illustrated the sophistication of their communication and their social needs. It has perpetuated vital field knowledge and experience that would otherwise have been lost, and made it available to all national parks in East Africa and many beyond.

The Trust provides continual support for The Kenyan Wildlife Service through our Desnaring efforts within the Tsavo Ecosystem and the Mobile Veterinary Units, but also through support of security fuel, and electrically fencing sensitive National Park boundaries, alleviating human wildlife conflict. The Trust supports indigenous tree nurseries, and water projects in both Tsavo National Park and in the bordering community areas.

This web site contains valuable information concerning Elephant & Rhino Conservation, elephant emotion, the orphans who have been raised by us, and much more.

'Saving wildlife and wilderness is the responsibility of all thinking people. Greed and personal gain must not be permitted to decimate, despoil and destroy the earth's irreplaceable treasure for its existence is essential to the human spirit and the well-being of the earth as a whole. All life has just one home - the earth - and we as the dominant species must take care of it.'

Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick

http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/

Hakuna Matata=D



How Nchan was orphanedThe day she arrived at the nursery in April 2009

Nchan March 2010

Nchan playing football with Emanuel




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