The Keepers are showing Bungalu and Kaikai where to find the tastiest greens – and, as always, each orphan has their own approach. 🐘 Kaikai wastes no time picking leaves for herself, while also happily accepting freshly picked treats from Jonas. Bungalu, meanwhile, takes a more sedate approach, leaving Joseph to do the picking and hand-feed him each mouthful. Meet Kaikai: sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/o… Meet Bungalu: sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/o…

The Nursery’s big kids, all in one game. Pardamat is famously uninterested in playing with the babies – the Keepers note that he only takes on the older set. Here, he has three willing opponents, and this group certainly knows how to keep one another entertained. Last month, Mzinga chased Olomunyak around the compound trying to play-mount him, while Pardamat and Olomunyak kept one contest of strength going from the stockades all the way out to the field. Enjoy stories like these, and so much more, in our Keepers' Diaries: sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/k…

Alia likes her mud baths with a little more personal space. While the rest of the herd piles into any wallow they encounter, she’s often content to wait patiently at the edge. Once everyone else has climbed out, Alia steps in for a peaceful paddle of her own – exactly how she likes it. That independent streak is part of what makes her so special. She’s a devoted guardian to the Nairobi Nursery's youngest – yet to be introduced baby – too. Adopt Alia and be part of story: sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/o…

Sagala is a proud mum – and Dabida a proud-and-eager nanny! After seven months away, ex-orphans Mweya, Arruba, Sagala, Mudanda and Pika Pika returned to Voi, sparking excitement among the dependent herd. Dabida was especially thrilled to meet tiny Sia, quickly glueing herself to the calf’s side! With Sagala’s blessing, she’s getting valuable practice for motherhood of her own one day. Learn more about our rescue-to-rewilding approach, which has raised 300+ orphaned elephants:

Morning greetings from Bungalu!  Someone is clearly pleased to see us this morning – although whether that swinging trunk is a greeting or an attempt to investigate the camera is up for debate! Bungalu is a very special little elephant who survived an extraordinary ordeal before coming into our care. He spent weeks alone in the Tsavo wilderness, enduring huge storms, starvation and even a lion attack, before he was rescued. Today, he is safe at our Kaluku Unit, surrounded by his Keepers and elephant friends, growing stronger and learning what it means to be part of a family again. You can be part of Bungalu’s extended family, too. By adopting him, you help support his milk, specialist care and the Keepers who are there for him around the clock – all while receiving regular updates from his journey. Bungalu’s story & adoption: sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/o…

Having polished off her two bottles of milk, Rokka remains in situ, gazing lovingly at her Keeper in the hope that he might magically reveal that today is the day she gets a third! Two bottles are, however, ample for this little glutton. And when she realises her milk quota is not going to be increased, Rokka heads down to the mud bath to join the rest of the Voi herd. Rescued in July 2021, Rokka was found all alone in dense bush along the Tiva River in Tsavo East National Park, just seven months old. With no sign of her family, she was brought into our care, where she began the journey from rescue to reintegration. In February 2024, Rokka graduated to our Voi Reintegration Unit, where she joined older elephants and began the next chapter of her path back to the wild. Rokka’s story: sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/o…

Our 2027 Calendar has just dropped! Featuring a year’s worth of photos of our orphan herd, it makes a wonderful gift for any SWT supporter – and a daily reminder of the wildlife you help protect. Proceeds from every purchase support our conservation work in Kenya. → USA: shopusa.sheldrickwildlifetru… → Global: shop.sheldrickwildlifetrust.… Don’t delay – they sell out every year!

Play is one of the clearest signs that a baby elephant is feeling safe, healthy and well. After the trauma of their rescue, our orphans receive round-the-clock specialist care to help them recover. But it's when they begin to play that we know they’ve turned a significant corner. At Kaluku, Korbessa has taken little Wangalla under her wing – and she lets her young charge get away with just about anything. Wangalla, for her part, adores having a willing playmate. Rolling over Korbessa, flopping into the dust and generally acting the fool, she’s doing exactly what a healthy baby elephant should be doing. Your support makes this happy scene a reality. Meet Korbessa and Wangalla: sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/r…

Every one of these elephants is an orphan. Rescued at their greatest time of need, they receive specialist care day and night, before being given a second chance to return to the wild when grown. After their midday feed, the 20 milk-dependent orphans in our current 22-strong Voi herd enjoy a mega mud bath session. 🐘 Discover more at: sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/p…

Kipekee – here adopting a frog pose more commonly associated with Korbessa – is no longer the smallest member of the Nursery herd. That distinction now belongs to tiny Zuri. But being the second-smallest doesn’t mean she gets any less attention from the Nursery’s mini matriarchs. Muridjo, in particular, keeps a close eye on both girls – especially when their friendship turns into rivalry! Read the latest developments across all our orphan units in our most recent Keepers' Diaries: sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/k…

Kaikai has earned herself a new nickname: Little Disturbance. She’s taken to dashing back from the bush whenever she feels like it, trumpeting loudly as she runs and making quite an entrance. Bungalu, by contrast, is patient and never rushes anywhere. As usual, it’s Kaikai’s world and we just live in it! Kaikai and Bungalu are two of the youngest orphans in our care. Both will remain with us until they are ready to reclaim their place in the wild – a process that may take upwards of a decade. Adopt Kaikai: sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/o… Adopt Bungalu: sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/o…

There’s a new princess at the Nairobi Nursery, and she knows it. Zuri joined the herd just a few months ago and has already inherited the title of spoilt baby from Kipekee – who, for her part, has quietly become the polite one. Zuri drinks her milk pressed close to her favourite nanny, Mzinga, and that security gives her the confidence for her real hobby: mischief. She’ll gulp down her own bottle, and barge Kipekee off in the hope of a second helping. In fact, she's not shy about pushing other members of the herd too, safe in the knowledge that an army of nannies has her back. For all the cheek, there’s a more poignant story underneath it. Zuri lost her own family, and it’s Mzinga – patient, constant, always nearby – who is helping her feel safe enough to be this bold. Adopt Zuri and follow her story: sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/o…

For all their size, elephants can disappear into thick bush almost without trace. One moment, two of the Nursery’s biggest orphans, Taroha and Mzinga, are right in front of you; the next, they’ve stepped into the greenery and vanished, quiet as anything. It’s one of the first things that surprises people who see elephants in the wild – how an animal so large can silently disappear before your eyes! Blink, and the bush appears empty again. Get to know the Nairobi Nursery herd: sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/n…