Elephant Orphans' Project Bondeni and kinyei © SWT

Elephants are a Keystone species that define ecosystems. Their dietary habits and movements help control environments, along with creating new habitats for other animals. Even their large footprints act as water collectors and generate water sources for smaller creatures! Not only that but they also teach us the fundamentals of how to be innately compassionate, show everlasting loyalty and uphold the bonds of friendship.

The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust currently have over 80 orphaned elephants dependant on their care across their five elephant rehabilitation units in Kenya. An orphan’s journey begins in the Nursery, where they receive the 24/7 care that mimics what a mother elephant would have provided in their first few years. Soon this culminates to one of the Trust’s Reintegration Units where they learn the ways of the wild more closely from the wild herds they encounter on daily bush walks. The Sheldrick Trust offers them a nurturing, loving environment so that they can heal from both their physical and mental traumas that led them to become orphaned. They make a lifelong commitment to every orphan they rescue which means they are raised in such a way that each orphan decides when they make their final step in their reintegration journey, to reclaim their place in the wild.

We proudly support the Sheldrick Trust with an annual donation £750. To learn more about the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust this World Elephant Day, visit: www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/news/updates/worldelephantday