Elephants are wonderful animals. They deserve love and care just like any other species. Unfortunately, elephants have been hunted down for many years thanks to the illegal ivory trade. These majestic animals are killed for their tusks and sometimes even for their skin. Every year, thousands of elephants are hunted and killed. The tusks are removed and then flown to many parts of the world. Imagine how many baby elephants are left without their mothers? They are all orphaned.
Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick is an animal activist. She is concerned with all the elephants that are left orphaned and has been putting in all her efforts to raise as many of them as she can. She has been doing this wonderful job ever since 1977.
She has rescued elephants from the most traumatizing backgrounds. Their mothers have been killed in harsh conditions. Her job has been so important that she has been recognized by numerous government organizations. Probably all these babies would be dead by now if it weren’t for her efforts. She named the foundation she presides, ‘David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust’ in memory of her husband and has been making huge contributions to the wildlife for many years.
Some of these elephants have taken a lot of personalized treatment since some of them had witnessed the horrible end their mothers found. After this, it can take them a lot of time to be able to trust humans. But she is able to empathize with the babies so much that they trust her almost immediately. These babies feel a great appreciation for her and what she has been doing for them.
For her, it has also been an emotional journey to get to see all these stories of these beautiful animals being slaughtered and then their young ones been left to fend for themselves is just unfair. She says that what makes her get up early in the morning is knowing that one baby elephant is probably wandering around without his mother. She believes that despite being little, they know what happened.
Dr. Sheldrick wants to continue making a difference and she says she will keep on working with as many elephants as she possibly can. These lovely animals have gotten to love her very much and are not shy about showing her how much they do. The following video captures one of those moments where the elephants are lined up to give her a hug. This is one of those moments that will melt your heart. Don’t forget to share this moment with your family and friends.