Eight years ago Himself and I sponsored a little elephant through the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust ( http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org ).
He had been rescued at the age of about 2 months old from an open pit ruby mine he'd fallen into. The photo is from his rescue being prepped for the trip to Nairobi. The two guys on the right are elephant keepers from the Sheldrick Trust.
A year after that, as part of our Kenya trip we were able to 'meet' Zurura at the rescue center. He was about a year old at the time and just cutting his tusks.
He's so dirty because he just finished a good romp in the mud bath.
Anyone can visit the Sheldrick Trust and watch the babies playtime. However, sponsors can come later in the day and have one-on-one time with their elephant as they come in for bedtime.
Since 2006 our baby has become all grown up. He was moved out to the Tsavo location where the young elephants learn to be wild again... under the mentorship of both other ex-orphans and wild elephants. It's an incredible process.
Here's a photo of our boy this year. Yes, we still sponsor him and receive regular updates on his progress. He is now fully in the wild but still makes visits to see his old human friends at his old home.
Today is "Elephant Appreciation Day". Might you consider sponsoring an elephant to help continue the fantastic work Dame Sheldrick is doing in Kenya? It's only $50 a year to be a part of something incredible.
I'm looking into this. I went to the website but oh my gosh....how do you CHOOSE???
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!!
I'd start with a very young one. He/she will be in the Nairobi nursery longer and you'll get more photos and reports that way. Zurura is in the wild so we can only get a report when he comes in to the unit. Photos are only 3 or 4 a year now.
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