Today is Endangered Species Day. I cannot think of a better success story than that of Dame Daphne Sheldrick and The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. She is a proven example to us all that unwavering dedication can help a species for generations to come. I am so honored to have spent time in the company of these elephant orphans which under her watch, will grow up to give all of us the chance to see elephants in the wild for years to come.
Gunshots were heard during the evening of 13th April 2012 by the community of the Lpus-La-Mpasion area near Wamba in the Samburu tribal area of Northern Kenya. The next morning (14th) a severely wounded female Elephant with a calf at foot was spotted in the area, bullet wounds in the chest area and front legs had rendered her barely able to even move.
On the 21st of February the DSWT got alert from a camp manager in Meru National Park of a lone young elephant calf, who appeared to have a broken leg. The Camp Guides said that they had seen this orphaned elephant over the past few days.
One month old "Lumo", rescued from the water of a dam in the Taita Hills Conservancy by the Salt Lick staff during the late evening of the 11th of Feb. Having spent the night there, the Rescue team from our Voi Elephant Stockades drove in to assess the size and condition of the calf, before calling Nairobi to organize the rescue plane.
In the Galana Wildlife Conservancy, abutting the Eastern boundary of Tsavo East National Park, a lone calf of approximately 14 month old was sited alone on the 7th February 2012. The lone calf was again sited by the Galana Conservancy Warden on the 11th February, it now being clear that this was a milk dependent orphan with no chance of survival unless rescued.