Nairobi: The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Elephant Nursery

I visited Kenya back in 2012 and this is a post from my old blog

Before we drove off to Nakuru and Elementaita, we visited the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Elephant Nursery, which is an orphanage for baby elephants inside Nairobi National Park. At the elephant nursery, the orphaned elephants have a safe place to stay while they recover and grow old and strong enough to be released into the wild again.

Since the animals will have to survive on their own at some point, it is important that they do not get too domesticated. Therefore, visitors are only allowed one hour a day, between 11am-12pm, when the elephants are fed with milk from Dumbo-sized bottles. The milk formula was developed by Daphne Sheldrick and is high in coconut oil, which Daphne found out was the closest substitute to the fat in natural elephant milk.

For over 25 years, the Sheldricks successfully rehabilitated wildlife species and they are widely known for their work at Tsavo East National Park, which they transformed into the biggest national park in Kenya. After David passed away, Daphne continued their work in Nairobi National Park, and in 1977 The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust was founded. Today, the wildlife trust runs a number of projects throughout the country with the purpose of protecting wildlife and the preservation of habitats in East Africa. The Elephant Nursery is really nice and ethically run project and if you are in Nairobi, I can highly recommend a visit.

Read more about the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust on their website >>