The Orphaned Elephants of Kenya

Greetings from Nairobi!

I was so surprised when I came out of the airport gates - as there is always that crush of humanity, and sensory overload when you exit an airport in a developing country. Men trying to sell you taxi rides, "Where you going? Where you going?," intertwined with the smell of fire and diesel, horns blaring, music pumping, people yelling over the din in languages I don't understand... I love it! This is always my signal that I've arrived - I'm now on vacation...


But Nairobi was surprisingly calm, almost lacking in chaos completely. I must say, I was a little let down.



Anyway, we found the WFP drivers, waving their signs with UN logos, a welcome face in the crowds.


Today I went to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Preserve, followed by the Orphan Giraffe Center - both local NGOs working to nurture and rehabilitate orphaned rhinos, elephants and giraffe, who have been left to fend for themselves - some as young as four weeks - as their parents perished at the hands of increasingly violent poachers, or, more recently, succumbed to the extreme drought conditions throughout the country. The volunteers said that they've had more animals come in this year, than at any other point in their 30+ year history.




The animals often arrive battered and scarred - marks left from attacks and close escapes. One small elephant had a huge piece of his ear missing - left with a ragged edge - and no tail. I was told that he was attacked by hyenas as a baby, who literally started eating him, before some pastoralists intervened. This little elephant followed the volunteer keepers around, like they were his mother; wrapping his trunk around their arms, grabbing on to back pockets and headbutting playfully...

All along the roads outside of Nairobi, I saw farmers directing herds of emaciated cattle. Normally I wouldn't think about something like this, but my driver told me that the Masai people are bringing their herds into Nairobi from the plains because it's the only place with grass for their animals to eat. Nairobi! A city with reeling taxis, choking exhaust, skyscrapers, and dusty, dirty roads... the idea that *this* is their best option is a foreshadowing of the extreme conditions we'll be seeing when we leave the city tomorrow...