The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust

This is where we went at the beginning and the end of our holiday. It is on the edge of Nairobi National Park and is a centre dedicated to the care and nurture of orphaned baby elephants, as well as the odd rhino. As you drive up the hill to the centre you pass the houses of the handlers and the trucks they use to transport the animals before you come to the main buildings themselves. It is quite a small place, appropriately enough as Sheldrick wanted to minimise man's effect on his surroundings. There are a few pens for the animals and a few portakabin sized buildings but that's about it.

Kim adopted an elephant called Shimba before we left Saudi. The centre depends on donations at the gate and gift-purchases to a large extent. We got to print off a little certificate and a history of Shimba. It was nice to see him when we got to the park as well. He is one of the youngest ones there at the moment. He's pretty lethargic as well, according to his biography, so he fits in well with our family.



After the baby elephants had been shown to the crowds, the handlers brought the 1 and 2 year olds in. They were quite a bit bigger and fairly boisterous. They are allowed to be fed milk, which the babies aren't, and they ran down the hill to collect their bottles from the handlers.



After they'd had their milk they started playing around in the mud. Apparently, the babies get sunburn very easily, especially on the edges of their ears, so all this splashing keeps them cool. Unfortunately, some of the elephants are a bit naughty and like to splash the people around them as well. They also started pushing each other over and you'd be amazed at how noisy a small elephant can be.


We bought a few t-shirts after the show, which probably helps a bit. The centre is only open for an hour every day as they try to keep the elephants as unused to humans as possible, apart from being in constant contact with their handlers when they are babies. So, they have to try to milk the tourists as much as possible in that hour. We didn't mind a bit though as it was lovely to see these animals up close and the handlers were very knowledgeable about each one, as well as the parks that they will be sent to. We enjoyed it so much we went twice.