Alex Posternak

[Sheldrick Wildlife Trust @SheldrickTrust]

Zuri is happiest ensconced among her new family! Her name means "good" in Swahili and, predictability, her arrival at our Nairobi Nursery has sent the older female orphans into a tailspin as they lavish her in attention.

Physically, Zuri is doing really well but, emotionally, she has some healing ahead of her. Well victims are so often traumatised and Zuri's time inside the septic tank clearly still haunts her. She can be shy around new faces. Here, though, she is at her happiest.

Discover how you can support orphan Zuri's recovery by adopting her: https://t.co/RBNyett5B7

[Sheldrick Wildlife Trust @SheldrickTrust]

A tip-off led our SWT/KWS Chyulu Anti-Poaching Team to search for an illegal logging operation.

Following tracks, they came across an empty camp, so the team waited for the suspects to return – and mounted a successful ambush when they did. Three suspects were arrested by KWS and booked with the authorities, and the illegal camp destroyed.

Working with communities is vital if we want to safeguard our wildlife – your support enables our community outreach and anti-poaching initiatives to work on both sides of the conservation spectrum.

[Sheldrick Wildlife Trust @SheldrickTrust]

Tumaren is a calm and competent mother. She knows the trough is for drinking, the wallow is for swimming, and an exhausted week-old calf doesn't need either yet.

When her brand new baby boy, Tuck, got a bit too close to the water trough, she didn’t panic. She gently but firmly nudged him backwards – and when the young rebel ignored her, she called in reinforcements to send the message home!

Watching this, it’s easy to forget that Tumaren didn’t grow up alongside her own mother. She was orphaned as an infant, after her mother died under suspicious circumstances. Everything Tumaren knows has come through the Keepers who raised her, the fellow orphans who showed her the way, and the nurturing capabilities that are so intrinsic to elephants. We feel sure her mother would be proud.

Revisit Tumaren’s story: https://t.co/7d0gnLcoQz

[Sheldrick Wildlife Trust @SheldrickTrust]

Our SWT/KWS Mara Vet Unit had a patient who didn't want to be found. A bull in musth – testosterone sky high, aggressively evading every attempt to sedate him – but his 8-inch spear wound couldn't wait.

From the safety of their vehicle, the team stayed in pursuit and their patience paid off. Once darted, his wounds were treated and he was soon back on his feet – and back presiding over the plains of the Maasai Mara.

This took place in March 2026, one of many life-saving treatments that have unfolded in the field through donations.

[Sheldrick Wildlife Trust @SheldrickTrust]

Recent faces at Umani. Tell us, which image is your favourite?

Kapei, caught mid-mouthful stuffing his face with browse.
Zigi, sitting triumphantly, claiming his crown as king of the dust pile.
Maktao taking a well-earned nap after a night out in the wild.

Cast your vote in the comments – and tell us which Umani orphan's story you'd like to know more about.

[Sheldrick Wildlife Trust @SheldrickTrust]

Hours after rescue, saved from a septic pit, Zuri already understood that she was finally safe.

Just hours before, she'd been stuck in the depths of the dark tank, so deep rescuers had struggled to make out the tiny elephant inside. She was barely keeping her head above the water and would not have survived much longer.

Hauled to safety, this was Zuri's first rest stop at our Voi Unit. The next day, she was flown to our Nairobi Nursery where she was welcomed into the trunks of her new orphan family. Now she is recovering and starting to trust her new caregivers. Adopt Zuri: https://t.co/RBNyett5B7

[Sheldrick Wildlife Trust @SheldrickTrust]

This week's patient in the Mara – and he didn’t make things easy. Even with a significant spear wound, he managed to weave through the thick bush, which made it challenging for Dr Aminga to dart him, and then fell on the ‘wrong’ side for treatment.

As our Mara Mobile Vet Unit, operated in partnership with the Kenya Wildlife Service, reported:
“This big elephant bull was treated on the fringes of Ololasurai Mara Conservancy. He had an infected spear wound on his front left limb that was probably sustained from a human-elephant conflict episode. The injured limb was visibly swollen and he was walking with a heavy limp.

After successful darting, he went down on the wrong side, necessitating him being turned over using straps to access the injured limb. The wound was thoroughly cleaned and treated, and antibiotics and anti-inflammatories were administered.

The treatment was achieved with assistance from the Mara Elephant Project team, Ololasurai Conservancy rangers, and WWF Siana Ranger teams. Prognosis is good and close monitoring will continue.”

These operations unfold every day across Kenya. Learn more about our lifesaving conservation projects: https://t.co/XuaMb4fdNG

[Sheldrick Wildlife Trust @SheldrickTrust]

Captured on camera by our Keepers - meet some of our Voi herd.

Seri, our water baby, posing in her favourite spot at the mud wallow.
Dabida, sniffing the air to see who is around.
Serenget, the youngest of the bunch, perched on the wall and taking a break.

Are you an adopter to one of our Voi orphans? Tell us in the comments who you adopt.

[Sheldrick Wildlife Trust @SheldrickTrust]

Wild elephant mothers don't raise calves alone. Nannies do half the work – older females who walk close to the newborn, step in when the calf wobbles, keep watch while the mother feeds, take over the standing-guard shift when she needs to rest. Among elephants, this role is called allomothering. It's how calves survive.

Melia and Kitirua have been close since their Nursery days, and when Melia chose to bring her new daughter, Moon, home, Kitirua was waiting to help.

Meet Moon: https://t.co/WjZQtajvUC

[Sheldrick Wildlife Trust @SheldrickTrust]

Snuggles with ‘dad’ are just the best.

Looking for a last-minute #FathersDay gift to honour the dad that’s helped raise you? Set up your gift adoption of an orphaned hippo, elephant, giraffe or rhino instantly and, on the date of your choosing, we will email your dad with their adoption certificate. Set up your gift at: https://t.co/CooVpdJj7e

Your gift can help use care for orphaned animals like Bumpy, and gives your dad the chance to watch their orphan grow - with no sleepless nights required of them!

[Sheldrick Wildlife Trust @SheldrickTrust]

Do the orphans try to play with their Keepers?

Generally speaking, our Keepers play parent rather than playmate. They're there to feed, comfort, guide and supervise, not to wrestle. Think a finger to suckle on, or a calf resting their trunk on a familiar shoulder. When the orphans want to push and shove, they do it with each other. That's how a calf learns to be an elephant.

That being said, some characters are have such a joie de vivre that every interaction turns into play, Toto, for instance, liked to try and climb onto his Keepers and Bondeni would play chase with Peter!

[Sheldrick Wildlife Trust @SheldrickTrust]

Our wonderfully wild ex-orphan mum Wendi paid us a visit (her family just out of shot).

We rescued her in September 2002 from the Imenti Forest. She was just days old and her umbilical cord was still attached. In the hope she'd pull through such a challenging recovery, we named her "Hope" in the local Meru language.

Thanks to round-the-clock care, including three-hourly bottles of milk, she came through the other side. Twenty-three years later, she's a wild matriarch with three daughters of her own – Wiva, Wema and Wimbi. She still comes home regularly to see the Keepers who raised her – and take advantage of any childcare our Keepers or her friends can offer (she's a free spirit at heart is Wendi).

[Sheldrick Wildlife Trust @SheldrickTrust]

Mud isn't optional for an elephant. It cools the skin in the heat, blocks the sun and keeps the biting insects off.

A wild calf would learn it from the older females in her herd, but Kaikai is an orphan, so she's learning it from her Keepers and the other orphans in our care. She's determined that she's not the only one to get muddy either – a flick of the ear gets the Keeper filming this sprayed with mud!

Kaikai just turned one and has years of bottles, Keepers and bush school ahead before she's ready for a wild herd of her own.

Adopting Kaikai helps fund that journey: https://t.co/kDln4jg4mO

[Sheldrick Wildlife Trust @SheldrickTrust]

Looking for a last-minute gift for #FathersDay?

Gift an adoption of an orphaned elephant, rhino, hippo or giraffe in our care. Set up your gift in minutes and we’ll email your dad on your dad of choosing: https://t.co/CooVpdJj7e

Included in your gift adoption is a personalised certificate and monthly emails about the orphans, like Tytan and Notty. Plus the chance for your dad to watch their orphan grow up with the help of his gift.

[Sheldrick Wildlife Trust @SheldrickTrust]

When she was a mini-matriarch at our Nursery, Kerrio would lie down on the forest floor and let the younger babies clamber on her like a climbing frame. It was, you could say, her signature move.

A change of scenery hasn't changed this one bit. She might be one of the youngest orphans at our Umani Springs Reintegration Unit following her graduation, but thanks to the crop of wild babies that visit with their ex-orphan mums, there is always a willing play mate. Lenny was the upstart on this day and Kerrio was being the definition of a good sport!

Meet our grandcalves roaming the Kibwezi Forest: https://t.co/Wsh8EalbVZ

[Sheldrick Wildlife Trust @SheldrickTrust]

It's #WorldGiraffeDay. Come for a walk through with Pips.

She is nine months old, and the youngest giraffe orphan in our care. We rescued her in September 2025 after her mother was killed by lions. She had been hiding alone for days, slipping in to drink at a water trough and disappearing again.

Pips is in esteemed company. The first giraffe we raised to the wild was Kiko, rescued in 2015 and now continuing his rewilding at Lewa. Twiggy, another, joined the wild around the time Pips turned up, and has been seen in the company of a boyfriend.

Pips is still at the beginning of her journey. Read her story and help support Kenya's giraffe with an adoption: https://t.co/PhHUL6MgVg

[Sheldrick Wildlife Trust @SheldrickTrust]

After tourists reported him with a snare around his neck, it took two days of aerial patrols to find this snared giraffe. But we didn’t give up.

As soon as he was located, our helicopter flew the SWT/KWS Southern Vet Unit to the scene. Dr Lawi darted the giraffe from the air, then ground teams took over and roped him down for treatment.

Even by giraffe standards, this was a particularly daunting operation - this giraffe was notably large and pumping with adrenaline. Watch to see why they are already among the most challenging creatures to treat, and see how donations funded this lifesaving operation.

This #WorldGiraffeDay, be a part of more lifesaving treatments by donating: https://t.co/NVpsbuFaAn

[Sheldrick Wildlife Trust @SheldrickTrust]

Happy #FathersDay to all the dads and paternal figures celebrating. Including our own staff like Head Keeper Edwin. He has two families, his elephant orphan family and his human one. He says: “My kids ask me so many questions about my job, and they’re proud of what I do.”

[Sheldrick Wildlife Trust @SheldrickTrust]

Happy #FathersDay to our very own ex-orphan Laikipia!

Our gentle giant became a dad when wild-born calf Sia was born (our Keepers witnessed Laikipia and Sia’s mum, Sagala, mate 22 months prior). We also suspect he is the father of another wild-born calf Aura, born just days prior (her mum is Arruba, another female ex-orphan he successfully wooed).

Read Laikipia’s story and celebrate his journey to fatherhood: https://t.co/rBGxvVscwR

[Sheldrick Wildlife Trust @SheldrickTrust]

Lima Lima's son has had quite a month at our Umani Springs Reintegration Unit – his mum spent half of it being chased by suitors and he started bonding with the older boys, Kapei and Maktao.

Which Lenny photo is your favourite?
1. Showing off his trunk.
2. Ears out, striking a pose.
3. Playing peekaboo behind Kerrio's ear.

And while you're here, if there is anything you'd like to know about him – fire it our way.