4 Frequently Asked Questions About Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage

1) David Sheldrick orphanage

Soon after David Sheldrick’s death in 1977, Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick founded Sheldrick trust in memory of her late husband that became the best elephant orphanage in Kenya. It has become the centre for information on elephants.

2) Rehabilitation

Through the Orphans project, the Sheldrick wildlife trust saves the lives of orphaned elephants. Calves who are orphaned due to brutal ivory trade and habitat loss are brought here from all over Kenya. They receive special treatment and care here. After therapy, they are released back into the wild where they are reintroduced to wild herds. But even after they live in the wild, they keep coming back to the orphanage keepers to show off their newborns.

3) Visitation

4 Frequently Asked Questions About Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage

Sheldrick orphanage is a 45-minute drive from the city of Nairobi. It is inside Nairobi park. A team of people takes care of orphaned calves here. The donation fee is Shs. 500/-. Visits are allowed for an hour from 11am to 12pm when they bring the youngest  inmates to a cordoned off area for their  daily mud bath where they bottle-feed the hungry infants. People are free to watch, get close or even touch them but are not allowed to feed them. The keepers tell stories about how the elephants are faring and how the former orphans are progressing. The proceeds from souvenir sale at the shop goes directly to support the work of the orphanage.

4) Adoption

People are allowed to adopt elephants for a fee of $50/- a year. The orphanage provides an adoption certificate as well as up to date details about the status of the elephant on an ongoing basis. The private session between 3pm to 4pm needs advance booking which allows the adopters some private time with them animals. With special permission, adopters can visit the sleepy elephants going to bed.

Following information is obtained from https://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/faqs

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, our daily public visiting hour, between 11am and 12 noon, has been closed since Saturday 14th March 2020. This now also includes the ‘foster parent only’ visiting hour between 5pm – 6pm. It is not possible to provide a firm date for the reopening of any visiting to our Nairobi Orphanage. We will continue to review the situation, in line with government and health guidance, however at this time we do not anticipate being able to open to public visiting until after 1st May 2020, at the earliest. When the situation changes, we will provide further details via our website.

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