Ok last Saturday I completely caved and headed off to the
David Sheldrick Trust with the view of adopting an elephant. Now I don't
usually visit this place as I generally prefer to see elephants in the wild and
I do tend to get a little annoyed with the mass groups of tourists pushing and
fighting their way to the fence (don't get me wrong - it's great that people go
and see it and it really does raise awareness - but why does it always have to
turn into a competition about who has the biggest and best camera?). If you go to one of these places it shouldn't be too hard to show a little respect for the animals.
Anyway, moving swiftly on - the little guy who caught my eye is a small
bull called Faraja. He is almost two years old and was found in Amboseli
without his mum (unfortunately this separation is believed to be the work of
maasai herdsmen). Interestingly he
wasn't found completely alone, but with female members of his family who seemed
to be trying to take care of him. Sadly he was too small to survive without his
mother's milk so had to be rescued.
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| Faraja Today |
One of the reasons that I decided to adopt Faraja had a bit to do
with the fact that he's an albino elephant. I like that he's a little different from
the others (and it also meant that he is pretty easy to spot). Normally
elephants are born with a dark grey skin pigmentation but Faraja is much
lighter. As a foster parent I get the opportunity to go to the Sheldrick Trust
after hours and spend some one to one time with Faraja and hopefully he will
make it through and eventually be released into the Tsavo National Park where I
will go and see him in the wild.
I admit that I might be a little elephant mad - but I am
completely at a loss as to how anyone can kill such amazing creatures. Poaching
to me is probably one of the cruelest
acts out there and seriously - we are in
the 21st century so if you still believe that ivory has healing powers and can
be used as an aphrodisiac then I suggest that you check yourself into the
nearest mental health clinic, effective immediately. Only Elephants (and
Rhinos) should wear ivory - so please don't buy it. Just a thought.
So if any of you are looking for something a little bit
different to give someone for Christmas this year - give them an elephant! Ok
not a real one - somehow I don't think that would work out well for either
party involved, but why not adopt one? It's really not a lot of money - in fact
its cheaper than adopting three bumblebees in Devon and its way cooler (no
offense to any bee lovers out there).
If you want to read Faraja's full story (or see the video of
his rescue) or adopt an elephant of your own follow this link: http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/asp/orphan_profile.asp?N=278
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