Sheldrick Wildlife Trust

Last month, our Air Wing helped a giraffe mother who had been roaming with a snare on her leg. Our helicopter took a KWS vet close enough to dart her from the air. Then the veterinary team moved in, and 150 seconds later the snare was off. www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/news/updates...

Notty has been branching out, mingling with the residents of Nairobi National Park’s forest. Games of chase with orphaned elephants Wamata, Arthi and Daba have been the order of the day. They were slightly more willing playmates than the herd of impala who didn’t run from the zebra!

Time has flown and Tytan has grown! In the year since he arrived at our Nursery, our orphaned black rhino has grown from a 300-kilogramme rescue into an impressive youngster weighing close to 450 kilogrammes! Yet he remains very much a baby at heart, enjoying naps with best friend Notty.

7,890 deadly snares removed from the wild between January and August. These large snares are among those lifted from conservation areas by our rangers, who work in partnership with KWS. Each removed saves wild lives, but it is only part of the picture. www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/news/anti-po...

A sight we’ll never tire of. Our ex-orphans came to visit on Sunday, and Nesheshi had the honour of leading the herd. After her mother was shot and killed, reaching her meant airlifting her in a customised sling beneath our helicopter from a remote corner of Laikipia.

A month in the cockpit with our pilots. Which scene from the skies is your favourite? We started with a single aircraft. Today our Air Wing includes helicopters and fixed-wing planes, and it has become the backbone of our conservation work – vital for vet interventions and rescues.

Ashanti’s name means strength, courage and resilience. She has needed all three to survive. A poacher’s snare severed her trunk, cutting off the ‘fingers’ that let African elephants forage so dextrously. Then she got stuck in mud. Our rangers found her in the nick of time.

From stuck in the mud to starting her own family: meet Ithumbah. Sixteen years ago, our Ithumba team found a young calf trapped in a drying dam, caked in grey mud. Today, that same elephant is living wild and is the mother of two beautiful daughters – Iman, born in 2022, and Iris last November.

Watch out, Amali – Latika is keen to take your mantle as top nanny! Our girl with the short trunk and big heart only graduated to Umani in December and took time to find her place. Now she is one of the family, with a soft spot for Lenny – and he’s certainly putting her through her paces!

Medwine went head-to-head with another bull rhino and came off worse. Territorial fights are a normal part of rhino life, but the wound to his head needed attention. KWS vet Dr Aminga darted him and, with support from Partakilat Conservancy staff, the team eased him into position for treatment.

Coconut oil is full of healthy fats and helps condition the skin of the youngest orphans. Not all the orphans like their spa sessions though – Mbegu famously hated the stuff at first. Wangalla has been much happier to get stuck in: www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/orphans/wang...

African wild dogs view raising pups as a community effort. While it’s the dominant female that gives birth, the rest of the pack takes on babysitting duties or stands sentry outside. Our Air Wing and SWT/KWS Anti-Poaching Teams patrol tirelessly to keep their habitat safe.

Diligent, dependable Amali is emerging as a born nanny – she loves babies like Lenny, who have been left at a rather loose end since their OG nanny Kiasa began her pregnancy and lost all interest in them! In the mornings, she raises her trunk aloft, trying to catch their scent.

Bumpy’s ear wiggle. A thing of greatness (and cuteness!), and it serves an important purpose: clearing his ear canal of any water. He’s graduated to a new pool, which he loves – and which gives him even more space for elaborate swimming routines. www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/orphans/bumpy

The table is set, the guests have arrived, and dinner is served. Most evenings, Max hosts a party of pigs and assorted hangers-on. These wild warthogs have taken up residence around the Nairobi Nursery and come and go from his stockade as they please. www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/orphans/maxw...

This months-old calf was attacked by predators at the height of the dry season. He survived, but was left with septic bite wounds – and a very worried mother. To treat him safely in the field, our team had to dart both mother and calf, then set to work cleaning the calf’s many wounds.

Is it a sign of Kaikai’s growing maturity – or simply that Bungalu is now strong enough to get his own back when she acts stroppy? Either way, on this occasion our Kaluku princess happily shared Keeper Jonas’s affections with her ‘little brother’. www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/orphans/bung...

Snapshots from our Voi Reintegration Unit taken by our Keepers – which is your favourite? 1. Ndotto, showing off his trunk and fingers. 2. Kilulu, showboating. Always. 3. Baby Nsimba offering Dabida a kiss. Want to see them finding their wild feet?www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/keepers-diar...

Join Moon on a morning meander around the Ithumba stockades! Her mum, ex-orphan Melia, is just out of frame, confident that her daughter is safe to explore – and Moon is having a marvellous time to-ing and fro-ing among the wild elephants and ex-orphans who join our dependent herd for fresh water.

If elephants had mug shots, this bull would have one. He was a repeat fence-breaker and his crop raiding activities put the people who live next to Tsavo West National Park in danger. It took helicopter pilots, crane truck operators, rangers and vets, working with KWS, to move him.

After eight months away roaming wild in Tsavo, baby Sia and her mum, ex-orphan Sagala, stopped by our Voi Reintegration Unit with their herd. Sia started a game of peekaboo and Keeper Walter, like the proud grandfather he is, obliged. Meet the rest: www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/orphans/calves

Wamata doesn’t let a fence stand between her and her own personal paradise. This was more graceful than some of the attempts we’ve seen! She was found alone at just 12 months old, skinny and withdrawn. These days she bush-bashes, plays chase with Notty the zebra and hoovers up her dinner.

We protect whole landscapes, not just individual animals. From young lions and a rhino mother and calf to a small toad, every one depends on the same thing: habitat. Across Kenya, our teams work with KWS, Kenya Forest Service and conservation partners to protect vital habitats.

Our wild-living Umani boys may strut into the dependent herd with ego to spare, but the girls know exactly how to bring them back down to earth. Faraja strolled up to the mud bath full of bullish bluster. Murera wasn't impressed – she made it clear he wasn't welcome until he changed his attitude.

Saving a snared zebra in 60 seconds. But it took a lot more than a minute to set this treatment in motion. Rangers found the stallion with a snare on his leg; Roan flew the vet team to Kenya's northern coast; Dr Lawi darted the patient, then the team moved in to remove the snare.

Behind every patrol is a whole operation. Our 30 Anti-Poaching Teams are the boots on the ground. Two Drone Units and our specialist Canine Unit operate alongside them, while our aircraft provide aerial surveillance and a 24-hour Operations Centre at Kaluku coordinates activity.

Kaikai exudes joy! She is the happiest little elephant, who starts every morning 'dancing' into the new day! Her best friend Bungalu is just as content, but a little more subdued about it! Rescued as a newborn orphan, she will grow up in our care until she's ready for the wild.

24 hours. Three different species saved from human-inflicted injuries. One weekend for our SWT/KWS Mara Mobile Vet Unit – treating a giraffe in a wire snare, a zebra with a deep arrow wound, and a bull elephant shot in his rump. For the elusive zebra, Dr Aminga even took to a motorcycle!

There's a new challenger at Kaluku! Wangalla – the youngest of the herd, and by the Keepers' own account a character following in Korbessa's spoiled footsteps – squared up to the Queen of Kaluku herself for a sparring match. This contest may run and run. sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/keepers-diaries

The new kid on the block! 🐘 Last week, our Ithumba Keepers and the dependent orphans gathered to welcome Comet – a newborn, and the 95th known calf born to an orphan elephant we rescued, raised and rewilded. Read the full story: www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/news/updates...

Spotted alone by our SWT/KWS Canine Unit during a training exercise, the tiny calf was tracked for hours in the hope he would find his family. But no other elephants appeared. A year on, shy little Daba has blossomed into a confident, calm and increasingly mischievous young elephant.

Wild dogs are incredibly inquisitive by nature – and with our SWT/KWS Anti-Poaching rangers taking a break on patrol, it's hard to tell who is watching whom. Behind this quiet encounter is years of boots-on-the-ground conservation, helping this endangered species return to Tsavo.

Bungalu has mastered the art of holding his milk bottle with his trunk! Kaikai, meanwhile, hasn't quite got the hang of it yet – although we're not entirely convinced she's trying very hard. Why do the heavy lifting yourself when your Keepers are perfectly happy to do it for you?

It's milk time for Moshi! Every orphan in our care receives a unique milk formula tailored to their species, age and nutritional needs. Keeper Peter has every bottle feed perfectly orchestrated, under the watchful supervision of his adoring zebra shadows, Bombi & Brutus!

A wildebeest had been caught in a wire snare. In her attempts to break free, she snapped the log anchoring it, but the snare remained intact. Nasaru Olosho Conservancy scouts tracked her for two days before the SWT/KWS Southern Mobile Vet Unit located her. Dr Lawi removed the snare.

Arthi is trying his best to impress, but a rhino and a zebra are a tough crowd! 🐘🦏🦓 When he spotted Tytan and Notty strolling by, he couldn't resist a little bellow and bluster. His audience remained completely unimpressed, so Arthi soon took the drama back to his friends!

Big and little babies making the most of a splash! 💦🐘 We're still waiting for the rains in the Kibwezi Forest, where temperatures are soaring. For our ex-orphans and wild elephants, as well as the many buffaloes that call this place home, water points are an important lifeline during dry season.

A wire snare had become looped around his neck – but this week, this adult male eland got a second chance. The SWT/KWS Rift Valley Vet Unit responded to reports from Mundui Estate, carefully immobilising the eland and removing the snare before it could cause serious damage.

Someone's looking rather pleased with himself! Thanks to your support, rescued orphan Brutus has a lot to smile about. A full tummy, a safe place to call home, plenty of love and, most importantly, a second chance at life. Get involved and help spread the joy: www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org

A snare was cutting deep into the neck of this young male lion, and with every movement, the wire would have tightened further. A member of Elsa's Pride, spotted at Mugongo Plain in Meru National Park. The SWT/KWS Meru Mobile Vet Unit removed the snare, and he was able to rejoin the pride.

The cheetah is the world's fastest land animal, capable of reaching 120 kph – but it hasn't been able to outrun the human threats pushing it towards extinction. Fewer than 7,000 remain in Africa. When a cheetah named Milele was found with an injured leg, our SWT/KWS Mara Vet Unit answered.

After seeing Wamata's ambitious entrance into the coveted browsing quadrant, many of you wondered whether she managed the dismount with equal determination. For a moment, it looks as though she might vault right over little Daba, before thinking better of it and tucking back into the browsing.

With style and determination – and no small amount of heaving and hoisting – Wamata clambered her way over the fence and into her own paradise: the fenced area by Max's stockade, where the older orphans sneak in for some illicit pre-forest browsing. www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/orphans/wamata

During the dry season, waterholes can quickly change from givers to takers of life. As water levels fall, the mud can harden into a treacherous trap. When this elephant became completely encased in dried mud, our SWT/KWS Tsavo Veterinary Unit rushed in to help and free him.

Kaikai is our budding ornithologist. She's fascinated by the hornbills that flutter and flit around by day – and she'd very much like the feeling to be mutual. As you can see, it's a work in progress! www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/orphans/kaikai