Lady Keely Archer

Guardian angel for Thomas @PuppyNumber7 the love of her life whom she married 21 Feb 2011, @ourWinniePup & @ourChloePup OTRB 10 August 2012

[Sheldrick Wildlife Trust @SheldrickTrust]

Moon nursing at our Ithumba Reintegration Unit, with Kitirua keeping watch.

You can tell Kitirua by her ragged ears. She was rescued in 2011 from Amboseli as a tiny two-year-old, around the same time we were raising new mum Melia – the two of them grew up together at our Nairobi Nursery, and both now roam wild in Tsavo. While Melia has just had her second wild-born calf, Kitirua hasn't yet started a family of her own. It seemed, today, she was roped in to be on bodyguard duty for the new baby!

Discover Kitirua's story: https://t.co/vRHg10aQ94

[Beauty of music and nature 🌺🌺 @Axaxia88]

I couldn’t stop smiling when I saw this little baby elephant holding its mother’s tusk, and I have a feeling you won’t be able to either 🐘❤️

[🐾 Dolly 🐾 @TeaganTheDog]

Dartmoor’s Hill Ponies face extinction. They need YOUR help now. - Sign the Petition! https://t.co/dslk3V3Zgy via @UKChange

[Antidepressant Content @depressionlesss]

Baby elephant is so happy to be reunited with mama.

[Beauty of music and nature 🌺🌺 @Axaxia88]

In this adorable moment, a mother elephant uses her trunk to toss sand over her back, a natural behavior that helps protect her skin from the sun and keeps insects away. 🐘💞

The young elephant watches closely and begins to copy her, learning important habits that will help it stay healthy and safe as it grows. This kind of imitation not only teaches survival skills but also strengthens the bond between mother and calf, playing a key role in how elephants learn about their environment and daily routines.

[Sheldrick Wildlife Trust @SheldrickTrust]

Baby Moon might only be days old, but she's already got scratching down-pat.

In case you missed the news: Earlier this week, ex-orphan Melia returned home to introduce us to her brand new baby girl. We rescued Melia 17 years ago, a likely orphan of poaching. Today, she is grown up and raising her family like any other wild elephant mum in Tsavo. It means the world that she chose to come back and share this milestone with us.

Revisit Melia’s story: https://t.co/kUXmNjNhZe

[Sheldrick Wildlife Trust @SheldrickTrust]

Melia is a mother of two now.

We rescued her in 2009 from Tsavo East – just in time, before lions got to her. She was feisty from the get go, a good sign indicating this one-year-old had fight in her to live.

It took years – Nursery, reintegration, slow steps into independence but today she lives wild in Tsavo, with her son Milo born in 2022 and her newborn daughter Moon. Two calves, one wild family.

Melia’s story was made possible by our adopters and donors, whose continued support is helping orphans on that same road to the wild.

Reacquaint yourself with Melia's story: https://t.co/JJQLEk6MFU

[Sheldrick Wildlife Trust @SheldrickTrust]

Kaikai is 11 months old and nearly every one of those days has been spent at our Kaluku Neonate Unit.

This tiny baby was rescued as a newborn from the Mara after rangers discovered her near the body of a dead female elephant. Since that fateful day, she's been raised by some of our most experienced Keepers — Misheck, Joseph and Simon — who shepherded her through the notorious teething stage and will continue to care for her through toddlerhood and beyond.

No cardboard box is safe from her. No milk feed gets mixed without her say-so. Sound like the kind of character you'd like to support? Adoptions help fund the daily care, milk feeds and mud baths she needs to thrive.

Adopt Kaikai: https://t.co/kDln4jg4mO

[Sheldrick Wildlife Trust @SheldrickTrust]

Tourists reported Wangalla alone — a tiny baby in a big wilderness, crying for her mum, seeking shelter among a herd of zebra.

Today she has Misheck. When dusk falls and the other orphans settle, he prepares her freshly-cut branches while she paddles around — one bright eye always fixed on him. She waits for every leaf to be plucked before she tucks in. Should he gets up for a cup of tea, she follows as his little blanketed shadow.

Discover how you can play a role in Wangalla's journey back to the wild by adopting her: https://t.co/loS0hJV6JZ

[Sheldrick Wildlife Trust @SheldrickTrust]

Wonderful, breaking news!

Early this morning, ex-orphan Melia returned to introduce a brand new baby girl to Head Keeper Benjamin and the rest of the Ithumba team.

Moon, as we’ve named her, is Melia’s second baby. She is a lovely little elephant, bold and brimming with character.

More to come, but we wanted to share the news in real time. Supporters like you make these stories possible: enabling us to rescue orphans like Melia, dedicate years to their recovery, and help them reclaim their place in the wild – paving the way for a new generation of wild elephants, like baby Moon.

If you're new to our work, discover how every rescue has the potential to forge future dynasties here: https://t.co/gAYG28HymE

[Sir Thomas Archer .. Angel @PuppyNumber7]

@AngelKeely Furever and always, my love xxxxxxxxxxx #soulmates

[Sir Thomas Archer .. Angel @PuppyNumber7]

@AngelKeely You are my world, angel xxxxxxxxxxxx #soulmates

[Sheldrick Wildlife Trust @SheldrickTrust]

Wangalla has joined a flock.

Our newest orphan, at our Kaluku Neonate Unit in Tsavo, has fallen in with the resident vulturine guineafowl. She's not the first, although her predecessors preferred chasing them into an explosion of blue feathers.

Wangalla's approach is much more companionable. She stands among them, plucking blades of grass with her trunk while they peck and poke around her. The birds have completely embraced her as one of their own. An unconventional chick, but a chick nonetheless.

Discover how you can join Wangalla's offbeat family by adopting her today: https://t.co/loS0hJV6JZ

[Sheldrick Wildlife Trust @SheldrickTrust]

Wangalla is in her happy place – fresh greens, hand-picked by Keeper Misheck. How can we tell? Her crossed-back leg is a pose we see when orphans are relaxed. Seeing her enjoy such simple pleasures brings a smile to our faces.

Follow Wangalla's journey right from the beginning by adopting her: https://t.co/loS0hJV6JZ

[Sheldrick Wildlife Trust @SheldrickTrust]

Keeper Misheck joined the Trust in 1998, when he was just 22 years old. Over the past two decades, he has proven himself to be an exceptionally gifted Keeper. He has a way with elephants and is the unanimous favourite of any orphan he meets.

His universal adoration can actually be a problem; it’s not uncommon for orphans to bicker over who gets Misheck’s undivided attention!
Wangalla fell fully and completely in love with Misheck, and the feeling was mutual.

He has been extraordinarily committed to this little elephant, spending nearly every minute of every day by her side, from morning cups of tea to bedtime lullabies. When asked if he might want a break or a change of scene, his answer was emphatic and immediate: “There is nowhere else I would rather be.”

[Sheldrick Wildlife Trust @SheldrickTrust]

All elephants celebrate a new baby with great fanfare, but our ex-orphans take it to the next level.

Perhaps it is because they didn’t grow up in the wild, witnessing births within their natal herd. It has become a time-honoured tradition for ex-orphans to return ‘home’ to our stockades within days or even hours of giving birth, bursting with pride and eager to show off their new addition to the people who raised them.

But, when an ex-orphan brings their new calf home, do they let our Keepers near?

Some do, the choice is always theirs. Emily was the first of our Nursery-reared orphans to return with a wild-born calf, and she was confident enough to share her baby with the Keepers who had raised her.

The most trusting examples are the ex-orphans who've returned to give birth at the Stockades - a miracle we've seen unfold twice. Emily is one of them. Melia is the other: https://t.co/L29uulc553

[Sheldrick Wildlife Trust @SheldrickTrust]

Keeper Peter and orphan zebra Bombi aren't related. But that doesn't matter to Bombi.

He's raised her from infancy and that makes him part of the family. Bombi has truly taken Keeper Peter into her heart – at one point, she only has eyes for him! In time, she'll hear the call of the wild - possibly joining the harem of a handsome stallion who resides near the airstrip. Until then, she'll remain a part of our family!

Not all families are born.

[Sheldrick Wildlife Trust @SheldrickTrust]

A walk to the wild takes years to complete. As an adopter, you get to be there for every step.

It starts at one of our Nurseries – where milk-dependent, fragile babies receive round-the-clock care and begin to heal. Over the years they grow and find their place within our herd, graduate to a reintegration unit in Tsavo or the Kibwezi Forest, and eventually walk into the wild for good.

You get to see all of it. Adopters get monthly updates, photos, watercolours, and the Keepers' Diaries straight from the field. And you know that your donation covers every milk feed, Keeper salary and vet treatment along the way.

Find your orphan: https://t.co/CooVpdJj7e

[WeRateDogs @dog_rates]

This is Sadie. She's a service dog who was honored with her own bone diploma at her human's college graduation. Worked very hard in all her classes and is glad her efforts didn't go unnoticed. 14/10

[Sheldrick Wildlife Trust @SheldrickTrust]

She arrived at just one week old – traumatised, crying, pacing her stable through the night.

Today, Kaikai turns one. And if you've followed her story, you'll know she's been running Kaluku ever since she arrived.

Mud baths are among her favourite, as is marching ahead with the confidence of an elephant ten times her age. She's extremely intelligent, and utterly convinced she's the centre of the universe. And she's not wrong. It's Kaikai's world – we merely exist in it.

Happy birthday, little princess.

Adopt Kaikai: https://t.co/kDln4jg4mO