More Elephants...

More elephants in the family:

Shimba is the latest member of our elephant family. We fostered Shimba in September 2006. He was just two months old baby at that time. Shimba was found near his dead mother trying to raise her up. His mother's trunk had been severed (probably after being caught in a wire snare) limiting her ability to forage. That and the fact that she had just given birth to a baby bull elephant had weakened her and probably was the cause of her death. Click here to read the full story of Shimba's discovery and arrival at the Nairobi Nursery run by the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. Shimba is a healthy and playful baby now and is in good company and care.

The other elephant member of our family is little Lualeni - who has been mentioned on this blog before. Lualeni has now graduated from the nursery and has been transferred to a group of slightly older elephants (the Ithumba unit) living in closer proximity to her ultimate destination - the jungle. She is enjoying the mud baths, wading in ponds and the great green salad bar over there.

Media Coverage for David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust:

In a previous post I wrote about the BBC documentary titled "Elephant Diaries" about the elephant nursery operated by Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. The BBC team went back to film an update [read more] on the documentary in July '06 and "Elephant Diaries II" will air on the BBC sometime soon.

Sky News also ran a story about the elephant nursery on January 22, '07. You can watch the video clip here (you may require Windows media player 10.0). The clip features Shimba along with other baby elephants - Lesanju, Lempaute & Gladessa. Dame Daphne Sheldrick - the founder of the nursery - talks about the impact of ivory trade on the elephant conservation efforts in Africa.

Please learn more about the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and support their efforts in any way possible.

An elephant sanctuary in the U.S.:
While browsing the WWW I recently discovered that there is an elephant sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee. The sanctuary was founded in 1995 by Carol Buckley and Scott Blais. The mission of the sanctuary is to provide a natural habitat and care for sick, old and retired circus and zoo elephants:

The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee, is the nation's largest natural-habitat refuge developed specifically to meet the needs of endangered elephants. It is a non-profit organization, licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, designed specifically for old, sick or needy elephants who have been retired from zoos and circuses. Utilizing more than 2700 acres, it provides three separate and protected, natural-habitat environments for Asian and African elephants. Our residents are not required to perform or entertain for the public; instead, they are encouraged to live like elephants. (read more)

The use of animals for entertainment in circuses is a cruel practice. I have mixed feelings about keeping animals in zoos as well. However, The Elephant Sanctuary's mission is admirable because it finally gives these elephants a chance to experience life in a natural habitat, a thing that was robbed from them when they were captured. The sanctuary serves a very important role in conservation and education.

Visit their website or watch an informational video [11 min., plays in RealPlayer] about The Elephant Sanctuary. You can also watch the "Elecam" which is a live video feed from the sanctuary.

Other Elephant news:
:: In a recent study elephants in the New York zoo passed the "mirror test" [video] for "self awareness". Elephants now joint humans, apes and dolphins - the only other mammals who possess such awareness.

:: In bit of older pieces of news, another study found that elephants remember - or rather recognize their own kind among the dead - a trait that was previously thought to be uniquely human.

:: Stale news (but interesting nonetheless): Scientists used to think that there were two distinct species of elephants - The African Elephant (Loxodonta Africana) and the Asian Elephant (Elephas Maximus). DNA tests have revealed [article link] that there are two distinct species of African elephants - the African Savanna elephant (Loxodona Africana) and the African forest elephant (Loxodonta Cyclotis). The forest elephant was previously thought to be a sub-species of the African elephant. Out of these the Asian Elephant is classified as endangered while African Elephant is classified as vulnerable species on the IUCN red list.

Here is a quiz question before I sign off..
How do you distinguish between African Savanna elephant and the African Forest elephant?

Technorati Tags: Elephants, Conservation, Africa

Elephant Diaries

There is good news about our baby elephant, Lualeni. She is now the mini-matriarch of the herd of baby elephants in the Nairobi nursery, run by David Sheldrick wildlife trust.

The second part of the news is that the BBC documentary, "Elephant Diaries" [view trailer] aired on Animal Planet on March 5th (Oscar awards night). It is too bad that I didn't publicize it on the blog well in advance and snatch some of the Oscar viewers. We don't have cable, so a friend graciously recorded the documentary for us. It was really great to see the story of this amazing elephant family. We also got a chance to see our baby elephant, Lualeni, on TV. YAY!

When the documentary was filmed Lualeni had just joined the crowd and was not mixing with the others just yet. Elephants are very social animals and have very strong ties to members of their herd. Lualeni's mother was killed by poachers probably in front of her eyes. She was rejected by other elephant herds and was finally rescued by David Sheldrick wildlife trust. When she joined the nursery she was a unhappy little elephant. She kept to herself during grazing and feeding and refused to interact with the other babies. After four months in the nursery though she overcame her grief and now is a very happy, playful elephant. She is now the elderly elephant in the Nairobi nursery and is kind of the mini-matriarch of the herd, looking after other baby new-comers. Here is a audio clip, with Daphne Sheldrick, who established the nursery and the trust, talking about Lualeni.

CBS 60 minutes traveled to Kenya in mid-January to do feature work on the David Sheldrick wildlife trust. Hopefully that feature too will air soon.

I am very much fond of elephants. They are amazing creatures who have a life-span similar to humans. They are social creatures much like us. They are very powerful and yet they can be very gentle creatures. They are endangered because of the constant encroachment by humans on their habitat and due to poaching for ivory. The job that people like Daphne Sheldrick and the amazing team of keepers are doing in raising orphaned baby elephants is very admirable and worth of support. The keepers try to provide the elephant babies the love and care they would have received from their herd. The babies develop a strong bond with the keepers. The trust tries to raise the elephant with the aim of returning them to the wild one day. Towards this end, it keeps them as close to the wild and as much in touch with the jungle as it can. Male elephants graduate earlier than female elephants and are quicker to move into the wild joining the wild herds. The BBC documentary features, Emily, one of the earliest female babies from the nursery, who has recently graduated and moved on into the wild.

Apart from the nursery, the trust also conducts anti-poaching and de-snaring activities and runs a nursery for baby rhino orphans and conducts a lot of conservation related and community outreach activities. Please visit the trusts website and support these wonderful creatures.

Technorati Tags: Elephant diaries, Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, Daphne Sheldrick, Elephants, Conservation

Proud (Foster) Parents

... of a baby elephant. She's on TV!




Here is a photo of Lualeni with her keeper. For more photos click here.



David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust [::] runs a nursery and a fostering program for orphaned elephant babies in Tsavo East National Park in Kenya. We fostered a little baby elephant, Lualeni, as a gift to my wife on her birthday this year. Lualeni was only 4 months old when she was found abandoned and wandering alone, rejected by other herds. Her mother was probably a victim of poaching. Lualeni, who is now 7 months old, found a new home with the family of orphan elephants being cared for by the trust.

The BBC featured the work of the trust in their documentary "Elephant Diaries", [website | watch trailer] which followed the progress of these elephants over the course of a year, documenting their steps back into the wild.

A clip [watch it here] from the documentary, which features our little baby Lualeni has now been nominated for best TV moments for the year 2005. It is about a football (soccer) game that these elephants play to bond with each other. It's really amazing. Please vote for this clip here (look under clips for the months July & August '05). The documentary will also be shown on Animal Planet in March 2006 as a 90 minute program. (more details)

While little Lualeni is happy with her friends, enjoying her daily forays for feeding and mud-baths, we are happy and proud to see her do just that! I am sure she is gonna grow up and be a matriarch of a big herd!

Technorati Tags: Elephant Diaries, Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, Lualeni, Elephants, Tsavo, BBC

Narripi

We first heard about the elephant nursery run by David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust on the NPR radio show, Living on Earth. The trust is based in Tsavo National Park, Kenya. These animals are orphans and often the victims of poaching, ivory trade and other human interferences in their habitat. We both love elephants. Baby elephants are simply adorable. The trust which runs this orphanage is a great organization fostering the cause of conservation and protection of wildlife in Tsavo. I visited their website and wanted to help. As a gift to my wife on her birthday, we fostered a small baby elephant - Lualeni. Here is a picture of Lualeni with her keeper.

Yesterday we got the sad news of the death of Narripi, another little elephant in the nursery. I had read about Narripi on the trust's website. Narripi was a brave little elephant. He was rescued from a hole in which he was trapped after he got separated from his mother and his herd. A Maasai discovered him and contacted the trust. Narripi was in a bad shape when he arrived. His trunk had been ravage by hyenas and had to be operated on. Narripi (which means "male guide" in the Maa dialect) was recovering pretty well. He passed away fighting a serious bout of pneumonia. You can read the full story here. Here is a picture of Narripi

In a world where there is so much suffering, both for humans and other sentient beings, I applaud the great job the trust is doing for these animals. There are many such organizations worldwide trying to reduce the plight of humans and animals. I feel that it is our duty to support such causes by contributing our time, money or other resources possible. I also feel that it is very important for the whole human society to undergo a major overhaul in terms of its lifestyle. We need to imagine and strive for a world where ALL humans can enjoy a lifestyle which is comfortable and amply fulfills our basic needs AND which allows harmonious existence for other sentient beings in this world. The words sound lofty and the concept sounds too "ideal" to be possible. But I feel it is the only thing worth striving for.

As for Narripi, I wish you a happy journey little fella. You gave us great joy. We will try to help your friends as much as we can.

Techorati Tags: Africa, Elephants, Conservation, Wildlife