Today we got our monthly email update from the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Nairobi, Kenya. When we visited there on my birthday (June 19) we adopted an orphaned elephant named Zurura. He was the smallest and youngest (at 9 months) elephant in the orphanage in June. He had fallen into a ruby mine when he was 8 or 9 weeks old, and had been rescued and brought to the Wildlife Trust for care. He joined the six other orphaned elephants who were residing there. There is a 1:1 ratio of keepers and elephants there, and the keepers are with them 24 hours a day, even sleeping in the paddock with them!
As foster parents of Zurura, we get monthly updates on his well-being. He is a healthy little guy but is a bit of a mischief-maker. It is always fun to read about what he has done next. But he has a big heart, and is often doting on his injured friend Kora.
The big news out of the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is that they have rescued another baby elephant, a 5-month female named Chyulu. The rescue of an elephant is always bittersweet. They are able to provide wonderfully effective care for animals which would undoubtedly have died if they had been left on their own. They successfully re-introduce them into the wild, and the elephants forever treat them as "family." But it is sad that so many elephants are orphaned. Some are from natural causes, but far too many are from poaching.
Zurura celebrated his first birthday on September 3. (Well, his ceremonial birthday, anyway. They don't know exactly when he was born.) Our little man is growing up so fast!
You can read more about our visit to the Sheldrick elephant orphanage on our web site.
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