Elephant Orphanage

Hello,

I did a blog on this on February 17 when we were actually in Kenya. I am going to add a little more to it now that I have the time. Apologies to those of you who have already seen this information.

Our good guide Stephen took us to the elephant orphanage that is located in the game park in Nairobi. They only allow the public to this particular area one hour a day. These orphans are to be reintroduced to the wild and it is not good for them to get too used to many humans. I was quite surprised to see the large crowd that had gathered to witness the feeding of these babies.

There was a woman who gave us all the details about each elephant. We were told their names, age, where they had lived, and how they came to be an orphan. Many of them came up and rubbed against her. The first group that we saw was the sixteen smallest. There were three more, but they were too new to the facility and could not handle any more upset in their lives. Elephant babies are much like humans in that they need consistency, love, and much physical care. The keepers are with them 24/7. However one keeper did not stay with one elephant instead they rotated times and animals. When an elephant has lost their mother they shift their trust and loyalty to the human keepers.

Elephants become orphans for three reasons: death of a mother (often by poachers), fall into a well, and human animal conflict. Elephants have a great need for water so when they smell water in a well they try to get to it. The babies often end up falling in. Sometimes mothers can get them out, but more often not and they leave them there. The human animal conflict comes about because both want to be on the land at the same time. Humans often win that confrontation by killing the elephants.

We also learned that wounds on an elephant take years to heal. The babies are fed human infant formula. Any donations to support the cost of formula are appreciated. They use a big bottle and these babies are quite eager to eat on schedule.

Paula

http://picasaweb.google.com/psbradway/ElephantOrphanage#