Monday, 31 March 2008

David Sheldrick Trust

As part of our commitment to wildlife Guy Salmon Land Rover has chosen to foster an orphaned baby elephant through The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.

Our objective is to help support the protection of this species and their safe reintegration back into their natural habitat.

Chyulu’s Story

The David Sheldrick Trust has a de-snaring team carrying out routine patrols in the Kibwezi forest, Kenya. On the 18th of August 2007 they came across a tiny elephant calf of about five months old stuck in a drying waterhole and managed to extract the calf with help from the local community. They chose to name the calf “Chyulu” (pronounced Chulu) since it is the first elephant rescued in the newly created Chyulu National Park.

The waterhole in question is often frequented by elephants, since it is the last remaining during the dry season, making it a hot-spot for poaching which is rife in the area. A female elephant was found poached some ten days earlier and it is believed that this could have been the mother of the calf. The baby was captured easily, and although thin, was still quite strong. Since it was too late to organise an airlift to the Nairobi Nursery, the calf was driven to the Voi Stockades where she was given rehydration salts and milk and held for the night. By the second milk feed, amazingly, she had calmed down, realising that the humans that surrounded her now were not the hostile community members that had killed her mother but friends that offered her milk. By the next morning she was suckling the hands of the keepers and following them around as though she had been with them for weeks!

The plane to transport Chyulu to the Nairobi Nursery arrived at the National Park strip at noon, and the calf was roped and loaded for the journey. She arrived at the Nairobi in the evening and was immediately welcomed with great excitement by the female elephants. Despite concenrns that they might be jealous of the tiny newcomer, they instead displayed all the motherly instincts for which female elephants are known. The very next morning, little Chyulu was out and about with all the others and even enjoyed the mudbath, paying no attention to the hordes of people who visit the Trust on a daily basis. Although the keepers tried to restrain Chyulu from going into the mudwallow, she insisted upon doing so, delighting the onlookers and amazing her attendants. Little Chyulu’s rescue was one of the smoothest the Trust has achieved. She is a very spirited astute and happy baby who basks in the undivided attention of the matriarch elephants.

For more information on the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust click here