Elephant orphanage (Kenya)
The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is often just referred to as ‘the elephant orphanage”
While only open for 1 hour per day, the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is worth the coordination to visit. You can get reservations to enter and get to see elephants slurp milk bottles with amazing speed, play tussle with eachother, and rub their snouts in dirt. You may be lucky enough to see one take a mud bath.
While the elephants are being fed, the staff will explain the history behind each elephant and tell you the process of releasing the older elephants to the wild (this can take up to 10 years!!! as released elephants have to be adopted into a herd before they are left to their own devices). At the end, you can adopt any elephant whose story tugged at your heartstrings, or, whose antics made you laugh. Despite the labor intesive process, this center alone has released over 250 elephants into the wild.
