Sanctuary offers orphaned elephants a chance in life
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E-mail CNTV, December 20, 2012
Conservationists say poaching has reached critical levels. But at an orphanage for elephants whose parents have been killed for their ivory, staff hope more people around the world will help give to their cause for Christmas.
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David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust [Keyafrica.com] |
Basilinga was two weeks old when his mother was shot by a poacher. He stayed by her side until wildlife rangers found them, but it was too late to save his mum. So at just a few weeks old he was brought here, to the David Sheldrick Elephant orphanage in Nairobi.
Julius Shivegha, an elephant keeper at David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, said, "Out of the 25 baby elephants that we have here, I would say 90 to 95 per cent of them is because of poaching. So you can see how bad it is."
Conservationists say poaching levels are the highest since records began and that unless it's tackled soon, wild elephants could be extinct in Africa within a decade. Adult are killed for their tusks. The value of ivory has sky rocketed in recent years due to growing demand.
Dame Daphne Sheldrick, the chairperson at David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, said, "North of the Zambezi there are a lot of countries that have lost all their elephants, and central Africa looks like it is going to lose all theirs. We've lost most of ours, the population's gone down from 100,000 to, they reckon, about 25,000, 20,000 if that now, and declining rapidly."
This Christmas the trust is asking foster parents to come forward and help raise the baby elephants by sponsoring them. They have to be fed every three hours, and the keepers even sleep in the same room. The more donations they get, the more elephants like Basilinga they can save.
Julius Shivegha said, "We know he will make it, because he has passed the most critical stage in elephants, which is teething, he is above that, he is feeding on prowse and we believe he will be back into the wild, successfully."
In 2008, four southern African countries were allowed to sell their ivory stockpiles. Conservationists say this one-off move just whetted Asia's appetite for more, fuelling poaching. The small legal, but badly policed, ivory market that now exists provides a cover for traders to offload illegal tusks.
The David Sheldrick trust is now campaigning for a total and indefinite ban on ivory sales, but until the demand decreases, the trust will continue to take in orphaned elephants and raise them until they can fend for themselves.
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