Trophies. Medicine. Furniture. And weaponry. Elephants have long been hunted due to hunters’ greed for their ivory tusks – the black market is specifically prominent in South Africa and Southeast Asia. The black market trade runs internationally, at a cost – elephant killings soared a record high with 10,000 slaughtered within a span of 3 years.
The elephant killings also cause the rapid and unfortunate abandonment of young elephants, who cannot survive in the wild without their mothers to feed and protect them from predators. As a result, baby elephants are killed swiftly by carnivores, endangering the population of most species of elephants.
But there is one woman who aims to save them all. Meet Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick, who sacrifices her time and energy to raise orphaned baby elephants, away from the dangers of the wild.
With the help from a group of experienced handlers, each elephant is well catered for in terms of nutrition, love and of course, the best care.
Elephant baby milk formulas are prepped and hand-fed to each young elephant through a sanitized milk bottle daily.