Elephant Orphanage

On Saturday we went to Nairobi for the day and went to what is commonly known as the "elephant orphanage". It was just wonderful! It would have been good to know beforehand that they are only open from 11-12 each day. Our driver thought our 9 am departure time would make us quite early but in fact we were there with just about 20 minutes to spare thanks to our various necessary stops (including one for Ford to go potty on his little plastic potty on the roadside in Nairobi - priceless!).

Anyway, you arrive and gather outside the gate then all walk in as a big group and stand around a roped off area. Within a few minutes this is what you see . . .



the most darling parade of baby elephants you can imagine! Some are just a few months old and all have been rescued from poachers or some other horrible situation. But it just keeps getting cuter because then it is time to eat . . .



then it is time to play . . .



It was so much fun seeing these precious animals . . .



Last year sometime the elephants disappeared from the Birmingham Zoo. I kept telling Claire they were just on vacation but I think they traded them for another rhino. Although Rhinos are endangered and interesting they aren't nearly as cool as elephants. I really missed those elephants on our trip to the zoo! What amazing creatures! Did you know that elephants mourn and try to bury their dead? And that they can remember their keepers years and years after they have been released back into the wild? The elephants rescued here and released back into the wild will return to the station with their calves years later if they are sick because they know the calf will be cared for. Amazing.

The Keepers were really knowledgeable and everything was really nice and well done. I highly recommend a visit here on your next trip to Nairobi! Here are some more cute shots . . .

From January 2010

From January 2010

From January 2010