Have you hugged an elephant today?
Published Thursday, March 09, 2006 by Ms. Russell | E-mail this post
March 9. This morning we visited an orphanage… for baby black rhinos and elephants. The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is open for only an hour each day so people can see the animals being fed and learn about them. We arrived a little late and saw one black rhino baby (a big baby!) who was playful and surprisingly quick for such a big animal. And cute, too! Then the baby elephants were brought in by their keepers. We learned that elephants are very much like people in many ways and family is very important to them. These elephants have all lost their wild families, either to poachers or some other human/wildlife conflict situation, or maybe by getting separated from their herd in a stampede. The keepers are their new family. There are several keepers because there must be enough to represent a “family” and to keep a baby elephant from becoming too attached to one person and then getting depressed if they are not around. Being an elephant keeper is a big commitment! They must be with the baby elephants at all times. They even sleep next to them at night, and make sure they stay warm and covered up with blankets.
It’s quite a challenge raising a baby elephant because they are surprisingly fragile. Keeping them warm at night is important because one of the biggest dangers is pneumonia. Since elephants can’t cough, there is no way to know they are sick until it is almost too late. And in order to thrive, an elephant must not only be healthy, but happy too. Their keepers give them giant inner tubes and balls that they like to play with. The elephants we met today were happy and friendly. They came to check us out, letting us pet them and nuzzling our toes with their little trunks. They are just adorable!
When the elephants are 2 years old, they will be gradually introduced to wild elephant herds. But it IS true that an elephant never forgets. They sometimes return to visit their human family—whom they will recognize instantly even after living in the wild for years.
You can visit the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust online at http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org
6 Responses to “Have you hugged an elephant today?”
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About me
- Hi! My name is Shayne Russell, and I'm the Library Media Specialist at Kenneth R. Olson Middle School in Tabernacle, NJ. Come along with me on an adventure to Kenya, Africa! We will be working as volunteer researchers, side-by-side with scientists who are studying the endangered Grevy's Zebra. Let's see what research looks like... outside of the library!
Photos from the Field
A herd of Grevy's Zebras grazing.
Zebra Day 3/2/06
Leader of the Herd
Mrs. A and Mrs. Havers
Mr. Stecher wore his zebra tie!
A good time was had by all.
You are not going to believe what was on the Animal Planet channel tonight - a program called “Elephant Diaries” featuring the orphaned elephants and keepers from the nursery in Nairobi! The program started with a rescue of an orphaned elephant from the Samburu National Reserve. This baby, only a few months old and still dependent on its mother’s milk, lost its family and was being rejected by other herds. A rescue team flew in from Nairobi to capture the orphan before it starved to death. The baby, named Nasarian by the keepers (meaning Lucky One), soon found herself welcome among a group of orphans at the nursery. Maybe Lucky One was one of the elephants you saw! And the keepers really do sleep with the orphaned elephants! I was so impressed with the keepers’ devotion and dedication to help the orphaned elephants.
I wonder at what age the elephant doesn't have to sleep with its keeper. When can the orphans be released in the wild? I think that it would be difficult to sleep right next to a real live elephant. I would be afraid that the elephant would roll over me in my sleep! It takes bravery, trust, dedication, and mostly, a good smelling cologne!
I think that the keepers are great people! I give them so much credit for raising such a high maintenance animal! It must be a lot of work. I know it is a lot of work just having a cat or dog rather than an elephant!
Since elephants have strong emotions and feelings like humans do, I was wondering how people know when elephants are depressed. I also would like to know what might happen is an elephant is not taken care of when it is depressed for a long time.
I wonder about the elephant orphans.
When the elephants are depressed because they lost their mother, do they go on a hunger strike or behave differently than usual?
Do elephants behave a certain way or act strangely when they want something or are trying to tell you something?
Our class is saving money to adopt an elephant. After we save enough money (if we save enough) we plan on adopting a rhino, too, then a zebra! I think that this will be fun and a good way to help the animals of Kenya. I can't wait to see a picture of our adopted animals.