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SAVING ELEPHANT ORPHANS Every day, almost 100 adult elephants are killed by poachers for their ivory tusks. And when these elephants die, their milk-dependent babies suffer, too. Just like human babies, elephant infants need to be fed, cared for and taught how to behave — so without their parents to look after them, they won’t survive. That’s where the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust’s Orphans’ Project comes in. The charity rescues orphaned elephants from around Kenya and gives them a new human family — a group of committed keepers who bottle feed and care for the traumatised babies until they’re ready to be reintroduced to the wild.
One of these caring keepers is Benjamin Kyalo (left and main picture). He’s dedicated the last 15 years to looking after Benjamin elephants, and is now r head keeper of the has looked afte s Ithumba Elephant lots of elephant Reintegration Unit. His role is to oversee the care of the older orphans, watching over their transitions back into the wild. We spoke to Benjamin about his incredible job and the big babies he works with... NG KiDS Why do the young elephants you look after end up in your care? Benjamin Most are here because their mothers were killed by poachers. Or sometimes elephants wander into people’s gardens and get chased away — the babies cannot keep up with the rest of the herd, so they are left behind. Others fall into wells during the dry period when they are looking for water, and their mothers are unable to get them out. Sometimes their families die due to drought. NG KiDS When an orphaned elephant is in your care, do you have to become its parent?
Benjamin Yes, we become the mum and dad for the elephant! Without a ‘mother’, the elephant could die so quickly. We have to bottle feed them for up to four years. And we have to show them a lot of love so that they can heal from the trauma. Because if you don’t show them love then they can easily lose hope and die. NG KiDS How do you show them that love? Benjamin Spending 24 hours with them, day and night. Touching them every now and again, covering them with blankets, sitting close to them. By doing that, they see their keeper as part of their family, and someone they can trust. But we try to rotate the keepers to avoid the elephants getting too much attachment to just one person. Because then if that
The illegal wildlife trade in ivory claims the lives of 36,000 elephants every year — that’s ONE EVERY 15 MINUTES. At that rate, elephants could be extinct in the wild by 2025. To help save these incredible animals, head to iworry.org to find out more and sign a petition!
As well as ageing at the same rate as humans, elephants also share our emotions. They grieve for their lost loved ones, they feel fear, joy and empathy, and are very intelligent.
NG KiDS visits a wildlife sanctuary in Kenya, Africa, where orphaned baby elephants are being given a second chance at life in the wild...
THE ELEPHANT MAN
How YOU can help!
Although elephants can learn to understand commands in English, and can ‘speak’ to their keepers using sounds and body language, they still need to learn how to communicate in infrasound. This low frequency noise is beyond human hearing range and has to be learnt from other elephants. person leaves, it would be like losing another family member. NG KiDS Amazingly, you’ve seen 46 of the elephants you’ve worked with return to the wild. Several have even had their own wild-born calves. How do you teach them to go back? Benjamin They learn by watching the wild herds. When the orphans are two years and older, they leave the nursery in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, and come to one of the Reintegration Units in Tsavo East National Park. [All the elephant keepers rotate between the nursery and the rehabilitation facilities so that all the elephants get to know all of the men.] Each morning, we take the little ones
out into the park so they can join the wild elephants and learn how to behave. They find out about the plants that they should be feeding on and what to eat when they get sick. They also learn about elephant language and communication, about discipline, and how to act around dominant bulls. Once they are equipped with that knowledge, that’s when they can decide to leave their human family and join the wild herd. NG KiDS Do you make the decision as to when they leave? Benjamin No. THEY make the decision. We don’t force them to go. When they feel they are ready, they just leave. NG KiDS Elephants are thought to share the same emotions as humans. Can you give us any examples? Benjamin When they are sad they walk slowly with their head down, and an outstretched trunk. They mourn, just like humans do. But when they are happy
you can see them walking quickly, swinging their trunks from side to side. And they trumpet! I think they can tell the difference between a good person and a bad person — they can read someone’s heart. They are very clever. They also tend to be very playful. njamin NG KiDS What sort It’s feeding time! Be ers ep ke of games do you er oth and the play with them? are expert ‘mums’ Benjamin They play with their fellow orphans, but we pat them, touch their trunk, blow in their trunk, that kind of thing. When they are young, you can throw a ball to them which they can play with. NG KiDS You’re doing an amazing job, Benjamin. Thanks for talking to us.
The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust was founded by Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick in memory of her late husband, a famous naturalist. Since it opened in 1977, staff at their elephant orphanage have hand-reared over 150 elephant calves — it’s the most successful orphan-elephant rescue and rehabilitation program in the world. Check out sheldrickwildlifetrust.org for more information.
Turn over to read about some other inspiring projects that are helping rare wildlife...
One of these caring keepers is Benjamin Kyalo (left and main picture). He’s dedicated the last 15 years to looking after Benjamin elephants, and is now r head keeper of the has looked afte s Ithumba Elephant lots of elephant Reintegration Unit. His role is to oversee the care of the older orphans, watching over their transitions back into the wild. We spoke to Benjamin about his incredible job and the big babies he works with... NG KiDS Why do the young elephants you look after end up in your care? Benjamin Most are here because their mothers were killed by poachers. Or sometimes elephants wander into people’s gardens and get chased away — the babies cannot keep up with the rest of the herd, so they are left behind. Others fall into wells during the dry period when they are looking for water, and their mothers are unable to get them out. Sometimes their families die due to drought. NG KiDS When an orphaned elephant is in your care, do you have to become its parent?
Benjamin Yes, we become the mum and dad for the elephant! Without a ‘mother’, the elephant could die so quickly. We have to bottle feed them for up to four years. And we have to show them a lot of love so that they can heal from the trauma. Because if you don’t show them love then they can easily lose hope and die. NG KiDS How do you show them that love? Benjamin Spending 24 hours with them, day and night. Touching them every now and again, covering them with blankets, sitting close to them. By doing that, they see their keeper as part of their family, and someone they can trust. But we try to rotate the keepers to avoid the elephants getting too much attachment to just one person. Because then if that
The illegal wildlife trade in ivory claims the lives of 36,000 elephants every year — that’s ONE EVERY 15 MINUTES. At that rate, elephants could be extinct in the wild by 2025. To help save these incredible animals, head to iworry.org to find out more and sign a petition!
As well as ageing at the same rate as humans, elephants also share our emotions. They grieve for their lost loved ones, they feel fear, joy and empathy, and are very intelligent.
NG KiDS visits a wildlife sanctuary in Kenya, Africa, where orphaned baby elephants are being given a second chance at life in the wild...
THE ELEPHANT MAN
How YOU can help!
Although elephants can learn to understand commands in English, and can ‘speak’ to their keepers using sounds and body language, they still need to learn how to communicate in infrasound. This low frequency noise is beyond human hearing range and has to be learnt from other elephants. person leaves, it would be like losing another family member. NG KiDS Amazingly, you’ve seen 46 of the elephants you’ve worked with return to the wild. Several have even had their own wild-born calves. How do you teach them to go back? Benjamin They learn by watching the wild herds. When the orphans are two years and older, they leave the nursery in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, and come to one of the Reintegration Units in Tsavo East National Park. [All the elephant keepers rotate between the nursery and the rehabilitation facilities so that all the elephants get to know all of the men.] Each morning, we take the little ones
out into the park so they can join the wild elephants and learn how to behave. They find out about the plants that they should be feeding on and what to eat when they get sick. They also learn about elephant language and communication, about discipline, and how to act around dominant bulls. Once they are equipped with that knowledge, that’s when they can decide to leave their human family and join the wild herd. NG KiDS Do you make the decision as to when they leave? Benjamin No. THEY make the decision. We don’t force them to go. When they feel they are ready, they just leave. NG KiDS Elephants are thought to share the same emotions as humans. Can you give us any examples? Benjamin When they are sad they walk slowly with their head down, and an outstretched trunk. They mourn, just like humans do. But when they are happy
you can see them walking quickly, swinging their trunks from side to side. And they trumpet! I think they can tell the difference between a good person and a bad person — they can read someone’s heart. They are very clever. They also tend to be very playful. njamin NG KiDS What sort It’s feeding time! Be ers ep ke of games do you er oth and the play with them? are expert ‘mums’ Benjamin They play with their fellow orphans, but we pat them, touch their trunk, blow in their trunk, that kind of thing. When they are young, you can throw a ball to them which they can play with. NG KiDS You’re doing an amazing job, Benjamin. Thanks for talking to us.
The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust was founded by Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick in memory of her late husband, a famous naturalist. Since it opened in 1977, staff at their elephant orphanage have hand-reared over 150 elephant calves — it’s the most successful orphan-elephant rescue and rehabilitation program in the world. Check out sheldrickwildlifetrust.org for more information.
Turn over to read about some other inspiring projects that are helping rare wildlife...
