David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust

Orphans’ Project

On call every day of the year, the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust travels throughout Kenya to rescue orphaned elephants and rhinos left alone with no hope of survival. Many of the orphans rescued are victims of poaching and human-wildlife conflict and are in a terrible state of emaciation and distress.^[4]

After each orphan rescue, the long and complex process of rehabilitation begins at the DSWT’s Nursery nestled within the Nairobi National Park. For milk-dependent elephant calves it is here, during this crucial phase, where they are cared for and healed both emotionally and physically by the DSWT’s dedicated team of elephant Keepers who take on the role and responsibility of becoming each orphan’s adopted family during their rehabilitation.^[5]

Each elephant remains at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust’s Nursery in Nairobi National Park until they are ready to make the journey to one of three rehabilitation stockades at Voi or Ithumba in Tsavo East National Park , or at their Umani Springs Reintegration Unit. This second phase of rehabilitation can span a period of up to ten years as the orphaned elephants gradually transition back into the wild herds of Tsavo, taken at a pace determined by each individual elephant.

To date, the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust has successfully hand-raised over 200 infant elephants and reintegrated over 100 orphaned elephants back into the wild herds of Tsavo National Park. More than 25 wild born calves have been born to orphaned elephants raised in their care, living back in the wild.

Anti-Poaching Teams

To combat ivory, bushmeat and rhino horn poaching, which are devastating wildlife populations, the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust operates fully equipped Anti-Poaching Units in partnership with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS^[6]). By March 2017, the DSWT/KWS Units had made more than 2,800 arrests and removed in excess of 140,000 snares.

Ten Units protect the greater Tsavo Conservation Area covering a vast 60,000km2, whilst one fully mobile unit is operating throughout the country where it is needed the most. These fully trained frontline teams, accompanied by armed KWS Rangers, are equipped with vehicles, camping equipment, radios, GPS units and cameras, patrolling daily to combat elephant and rhino poaching as well as the threat of bushmeat snaring.^[7]

Supporting these vital ground teams is a Rapid Response Anti-Poaching Unit operated by armed KWS rangers selected from the Service’s top field recruits.

Canine Unit

The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust operates a specialist Canine Unit with three Belgian Malinois who have been trained to track and detect illegal wildlife products such as ivory, rhino horn and bush meat as well as guns and ammunition.^[8] The three canines are deployed to support the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust’s anti-poaching efforts and are accompanied by six fully trained handlers.

Aerial Surveillance

Supporting the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust’s ground efforts is an Aerial Unit, which includes six aircraft and a helicopter, all of which are active in the field throughout the Tsavo ecosystem as well as within the Lamu District. Daily, the Aerial Unit takes part in security patrols and provides support to search and veterinary intervention for injured elephants and wildlife, as well as search and rescue operations for orphaned elephant calves and wildlife emergencies.^[9]

Aerial reconnaissance is a vital tool in the effective prevention of illegal activities and the DSWT’s combination of active ground teams and an ‘eye in the sky’ have resulted in many successes in preventing poaching attacks, apprehending poaching offenders and recovering tusks, whilst saving the lives of many injured elephants and other wildlife species due to poaching incidents.^[10]

Mobile Veterinary Units

The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust operates four fully equipped Mobile Veterinary Units and a Sky Vet initiative headed by Kenya Wildlife Service Vets to alleviate the suffering of injured wild animals. All four units are equipped with custom-made vehicles, darting hatches, equipment shelves, a fridge, an operating table and necessary medicines and equipment required for rapid and effective veterinary response to any cases.

The Tsavo Mobile Veterinary Unit based at the KWS Voi Headquarters, covers an extensive area including the greater Tsavo Conservation Area as well as the Chyulu Hills National Park and the Shimba Hills National Reserve.^[11]

The Mara Mobile Veterinary Unit covers the Masai Mara National Reserve, the adjacent Mara Triangle, neighbouring community areas, as well as the Lake Naivasha and Nakuru areas within the Rift Valley; when needed the unit also operates as far West as Ruma National Park and Lake Victoria.^[12]

The Meru Mobile Veterinary Unit operates out of Meru National Park and provides permanent veterinary support to the larger Meru ecosystem consisting of Meru National Park, Bisanadi National Park and Kora National Reserve, including all wildlife dispersal areas around the Eastern Conservation Area, whilst also extending its services into additional parks and reserves in the Northern Conservation Area.^[13]

The Amboseli Mobile Veterinary Unit operates out of Amboseli National Park and services the Southern Conservation Area encompassing Kajiado, Namanga, Magadi, Lake Natron as well as the Southern Tsavo West area including Lake Jipe, an ecosystem famous for large number of elephants.^[14]

The Sky Vet initiative funds and coordinates the deployment of KWS vets to emergency wildlife cases throughout Kenya by air and is a vital addition to the DSWT’s veterinary program. Between Sky Vets and the four units over 1,500 wild elephants have been assisted and the lives of countless other species have been saved.^[15]

Fencing

With agriculture and human settlement encroaching into wildlife habitats, disrupting migratory routes and protected boundaries, the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust has been erecting and maintaining hundreds of kilometres of fencelines to limit this growing conflict over natural resources.^[16]

Water provision for wildlife

With limited rainfall in the arid Tsavo Conservation Area, which in recent years has shown a drastic decline, arid areas such as Tsavo and Lamu are first to suffer from prolonged drought. To address this threat to the wildlife within these habitats, the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust has built 14 boreholes and windmills to enhance the dry season productivity, as well as instigating temporary water-relief programs to relieve suffering.^[17]

Saving habitats

By securing Public-Private Partnerships with the Kenya Forest Service and Community Group Ranches, the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is safeguarding unique and endangered wild habitats.

Community Outreach

For more than 15 years, the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust has operated a community outreach project, working to improve the livelihoods and educational standards of people living along the borders of Kenya’s National Parks and protected areas through the introduction of community initiatives and local employment.^[20]

Their initiatives include:

- Free field trips throughout the year into Tsavo East and West National Parks for schools living on the Parks borders.

- Tree Planting Programs. The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust has developed three mature tree nurseries, producing thousands of saplings, which are distributed to local communities and schools, encouraging families and children to plant, nurture and protect their trees and forested areas to instil a better understanding of the value of their natural resources.

- Wildlife Film showings to local communities.^[21]

- Beehive fence lines. Since 2015, the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust has been working with local communities inhabiting the north-western border of Tsavo East, to erect a 2.6 km long elephant-beehive fence with 131 beehives on seven forefront farms bordering the park.^[22]

- Funding of local radio programs in a variety of local languages, which promote wildlife education and feature DSWT field members speaking about their work and experiences.^[23]