Every year, hundreds, maybe thousands, of elephants are slaughtered for their tusks. They are hacked off and sold on the black market. For decades now, the ivory trade has been out of control!
This means that the baby elephants, without mothers to take care of them, wind up dying as well. Tracking down these poachers and bringing them to justice, can be a nearly impossible task.
Since 1977, Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick has taken on the responsibility of raising these elephant orphans by herself. The baby elephants have suffered both physically and emotionally from losing their mothers.
They have plenty of room in which to roam, and each baby has his or her own handler to care for them around the clock and make sure that all of their needs are being met.
After years of research, she has come up with a formula that is very similar to a mother elephant’s milk. This makes it much easier for these tiny babies to grow up big and strong, just like an elephant should.
Daphne’s main objective is to make sure that these animals heal so that they can once again return to the wild. They will need to help repopulate the wild herds that have been shrinking in numbers.
Daphne feels so passionate about putting a stop to the ivory trade that she has even opened her arms to rhinos as well. Their numbers have declined so far, that they are on the brink of extinction.
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