One last blog for the day. I’m exhausted but am not sure when we will have wifi again. I think we will have internet at Dad and Sue’s but Dad says it can be spotty. Sue asked what I might blog about tonight and I told her I have enough for more than five posts! We saw elephant and giraffe sanctuaries, a bead factory, Nairobi traffic (alert to sisters: Dad is NOT driving! He listened!) and people, a cat in a restaurant, a guy mowing with a machete, the Karen Blitzen house, and so much more! But for tonight, I decided to talk about elephants.

There were several times today when I felt like I could cry any moment. At first I blamed fatigue, but I quickly identified it as awe. What an amazing place. One such time I felt this was visiting the elephants at The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Elephant Orphanage. http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org

This is an orphanage that rescues orphaned baby elephants from all over Kenya. They can be orphaned from natural or human causes. They adopt them when they are anywhere between one month and five years old. After they have been rehabilitated and are ready to re-enter the wild, they are taken back to the area where they were rescued.

There are elephant keepers who care for them 24/7. The babies need bottles every four hours!

In fact, babies under one year of age need their keepers to sleep with them since they need their bottles on demand. We saw a few of the bunks where the babies sleep and it consists of straw, a space for the baby (well, a big space), and a bunk for the keeper.

Visitors are only allowed between 11am and 12pm for a feeding and play time. So we arrived well before eleven so we could see them! We were taken out to a large roped off field. Keepers brought out the first twelve baby elephants who ran out so excited for feeding time!

Some babies need their trunks held up so they can take their bottles held by the keepers. Others need no encouragement at all and actually take two massive bottles. Once they eat they are allowed to play in the dirt, roll on each other, walk around so visitors can touch them, or just look beautiful.

Sue’s favorite elephant, who she “adopted”, Suswa, is a bit over two and played the entire time. Even after the others gathered to walk elsewhere, she played independently. She rolled in the dirt, expressed herself with gas, got up and down on her knees, and was just all around amazing.

We were lucky enough to pet an elephant. He was surprisingly soft, though hairy. It was so neat (bad word choice but can’t decide how to describe) to touch such a gentle, yet massive being. The best thing about the orphanage is that their job is to save, preserve, and educate- not to exploit. The keepers were very protective of the babies.

After the first class of elephants (the youngest) trounced off, two warthogs raced into the field, ran around, did pug like circle dances, and left. They are allowed as they do no harm and it’s a wildlife reserve and are protected. I have now decided I officially love warthogs.

The second group of elephants were older and no less adorable. One amazing fact is the saying “an elephant never forgets” is true. Even after being returned to the wild, an elephant will remember his or her keeper for up to thirty years. This is so sweet on one hand. On the other, it means they’ll never forget what made them orphaned in the first place.

They are usually orphaned because they fell down a well and are found or because their mothers are killed by poachers or by humans by various reasons. I’ve never bought anything ivory before and I am even more resolved to never support poaching in any manner. These are beautiful, gentle, and brilliant creatures.

Dad and Sue honored us with the gift of our very own elephant who we adopted. Granted, thousands more may also have adopted her, but she loves us the best.

Meet Mbegu (m is silent). She’s five and a half months.

Mbegu was orphaned after her mother was killed in an elephant stampede. The stampede happened after an elephant was killed by villagers because it killed a woman. They did not find Mbegu for a long while and she hadn’t eaten in days. They are feeding her well now but she’s still very small. We will get monthly updates in her along with her keeper’s pictures and diary. We couldn’t be more proud of our little elephant.

Beautiful day and beautiful creatures. Now off to sleep and dream of Mbegu, the cats, and pug playing together like one big happy family.