Sonje, our baby elephant
We’re keen supporters of the work of the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and have been for quite a few years. In this effort, we have recently renewed our ‘adoption’ of the beautiful young elephant, Sonje.
Sonje is now 11 years old and we have been proudly following her journey for many of those years. She was orphaned when her mother was killed by poachers at just 12 months old and was still milk dependent for survival. Here is a little of her story prior to reaching the SWT…
In the Galana Wildlife Conservancy, abutting the Eastern boundary of Tsavo East National Park, a lone calf of approximately 12 month old was sited alone on the 7th February 2012. The lone calf was again sited by the Galana Conservancy Warden on the 11th February, it now being clear that this was a milk dependent orphan with no chance of survival unless rescued. The Warden and his team monitored the calf all day, having reported its presence to the Senior Warden, Tsavo East National Park, and the Trust’s Field Officer, who alerted the SWT’s Nairobi Headquarters and the elephant Keepers based at our Voi elephant stockades that a rescue was on the cards.
The capture took place on the 11th, the female orphan too weak and lame to put up much resistance. The right hind leg had a huge protrusion on the top joint which appeared to possibly be the result of a previous fracture. Two small scars at the site of swelling indicate that it could be an old arrow or spear wound, leaving the calf walking with a pronounced limp. It was clear that this was a very lucky little elephant to have been found before a hungry lion, who was roaming the area, made a meal of her, which undoubtedly would have happened had she not been rescued that day.
As one of Africa’s oldest wildlife charities and leading conservation organisation, the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust’s mission is to be a pioneer in Kenyan wildlife and habitat preservation. They are most famous for their elephant and rhino orphan rescue and rehabilitation program.
When you adopt a beautiful elephant like Sonje here, you receive the following:
- A personalised adoption certificate
- Exclusive Orphans’ Project update sent monthly via email, including highlights from four orphan units
- Access to exclusive downloadable watercolours by Angela Sheldrick
- Access to the latest Keepers’ Diaries and updates featuring your orphan
- Downloadable images of your adopted orphan for your personal use
- First-look at the SWT new monthly videos
To date the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust has raised 288 elephant orphans and 17 rhino orphans with the aim to rehabilitate and release back into the wild.
We’d like to share just one snippet of a day in Sonje’s life – this one taken from the keeper’s diary on the 6th of January 2022 – remember that all characters you read here are elephants of varying ages. Sonje is currently at the Umani Springs Reintegration Unit.
“As soon as the orphans were done with their morning routine, Sonje gathered them all around to discuss what direction they would browse in today. Kiombo was the first out of the gate and raced ahead of everyone. Sonje preferred the younger babies to walk between the older orphans as it was always safer this way. Kiombo continued to run ahead, but a troop of screaming baboons in the overhead trees scared him and sent him running back to Sonje, where she was walking with Kiasa.”
– Keepers’ Diary – Umani Springs Reintegration Unit, Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, Nairobi, Kenya
From a traumatic start in life, the now 11 year old Sonje is now thriving and caring for others in her herd. We couldn’t be more proud of her!