David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust
The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust ( DSWT ) is a non-governmental organization in Nairobi that primarily cares for orphaned animals and, according to Spiegel Online, is “the world's most successful rescue and reintroduction center for orphaned elephants”. The Trust was recognized as a charity in 2004 in the UK and the US . DSWT was founded in 1977 by Daphne Sheldrick in memory of her husband David Sheldrick .
The organization is supported u. a. from the Action Group on Species Protection .
General goals
DSWT is best known for the rearing and conservation of elephants and black rhinos .
The Trust has been supporting the Kenya Wildlife Service since April 1999 through seven trapping groups. These patrol the Tsavo East and Tsavo West National Park , their adjacent areas and the Kibwezi Forest . To support these groups, DSWT owns four aircraft (two Cub Crafters CC18-180 Top Cubs, a Piper Super Cub and a Cessna 18) that cover the Tsavo Conservation Area (consisting of Tsavoe East, Tsavo West and Chyulu- Hills National Park ) and the Kibwezi Forest.
DSWT also works with the residents who live near the national parks and protected areas. For example, donations in kind are organized, schooling is supported or fences are erected to protect the fields from the animals.
Another application for the Trust's nature protection and conservation of habitats of wild animals . They support the Tsavo Conservation Area , the Kibwezi Forest and the Lamu Conservation Trust , which wants to protect 255 km 2 as a private nature reserve near Lamu .
Elephant Orphanage
The elephant orphanage is located on the outskirts of Nairobi, right by the Nairobi National Park . There, baby elephants who have lost their parents find a new home. Most of the parents of these elephants are victims of poaching . Usually only the young are left, which starve to death in a very short time due to the loss of the herd or become the prey of predators if they are not found by rangers in time and brought to the orphanage.
The animals are looked after by several keepers around the clock. They stay there until they are around two years old and are then relocated to Tsavo National Park and the release station there. Here, with the help of the older elephants that have already been released, they gradually get to know life in the wild.
The German television series Elefant, Tiger & Co. and Wildes Leben dedicated episodes to the elephant orphanage. For the documentary “In action for elephants”, Hannes Jaenicke visited the elephants in the orphanage in Nairobi and in the reintroduction station at the Tsavo East National Park together with the Action Group on Species Protection .
By 2013 more than 150 elephants had been raised and released into the wild. At the same time, 80 elephants were being cared for in the elephant orphanage, 45 of which were added within a year - the largest number since it was founded in 1977.
Media attention
In December 2013, the DSWT attempted to gain worldwide media attention with two campaigns. On the one hand, famous fathers such as William, Duke of Cambridge , basketball star Yao Ming and football icon David Beckham are committed to preserving and saving Africa's elephants. It is also possible to sponsor an elephant.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Charles Siebert: Elephants in Kenya: Orphanage for Little Giants. Spiegel Online, September 11, 2011, accessed December 7, 2013 .
- ↑ a b Sheldrick Trust Orphan Project. David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, accessed December 7, 2013 .
- ↑ Elephant Foster Mom: A Conversation with Daphne Sheldrick (nationalgeographic.com December 6, 2013, accessed December 20, 2013)
- ↑ Elephant mother: Daphne Sheldrick, 79, is still caring for orphans of the poaching epidemic (standard.co.uk December 20, 2013, accessed December 20, 2013)
- ↑ An orphanage for little pachyderms. MDR , November 23, 2011, archived from the original on December 11, 2013 ; accessed on May 23, 2016 .
- ↑ Wild Life. D 1997-1998. fernsehserien.de, accessed December 7, 2013 .
- ↑ Record number of baby elephants orphaned in Kenya ( Memento of the original from February 28, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (genevalunch.com of December 17, 2013, accessed December 20, 2013)
- ↑ Famous Fathers Speak Out Against Illegal Wildlife Trade (looktothesestars.org December 6, 2013, accessed December 20, 2013)
- ↑ The Ultimate Holiday Gift: Adopt An Elephant And Help Preserve Africa's Endangered Wildlife ( Memento of the original from December 26, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (ryot.org of November 28, 2013, accessed December 20, 2013)
