How’s this for cute? At the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Nairobi, Kenya, orphaned baby elephants are raised by hand. Victims of poaching, accidents or natural events, these babies are fed SM26 baby formula and cared for their own minder. The babies sleep with their carer until they turn three years old and then they are taken to a nearby reserve to let them interact with a resident herd of elephants. The carer takes lodgings in a hut nearby where the young elephant returns to every night till he or she is fully comfortable with the other elephants.The process is labour intensive and costly. You can visit the orphanage which is about 15 minutes drive from the centre eof Nairobi.

You can even adopt a baby elephant to see him  through this sensitive stage. If you get there before 11 am, there is a daily gathering of the babies in full view of visitors. They come with their humans, like kindy kids, to play in the mud and be fed huge bottles of formula (elephants are allergic to cow’s milk).

For more information see:

www.sheldrikwildlifetrust.org

www.magicalkenya.com