Issue link: https://nest.uberflip.com/i/596850
ounded in Kenya in 1977 by Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick, in memory of her late husband, David Sheldrick, the naturalist and founder warden of Kenya's Tsavo National Park, The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust embraces David's vision for the protection of wildlife and habitats and undertakes a variety of projects aimed at ensuring a viable future for animals and people, where they might live in harmony. Elephants are one of the most, if not the most intelligent creatures on earth. Their emotions and intelligence are very similar to humans. They grieve loss and show incredible empathy towards each other by both physical contact and audible conversations. More similar still is memory - it is true an elephant never forgets. Young elephants that have experienced assaults on their psyches may exhibit signs of post-traumatic stress, just like orphaned children in the wake of war or genocide. From the front lines of crisis the DSWT witnesses horrific cruelty to these gentle giants and strives to rescue their orphans. Orphaned elephants are often in a state of shock by the time they are rescued. and corrupt governments fail to address the ongoing slaughter, Africa's elephants are being poached toward extinction to fuel the worldwide ivory trade. The once robust population of Africa's elephants (30 million) has been reduced to about 10 percent of their original population in the last 30 years. Startling statistics show that an elephant is killed every 15 minutes for its tusks, at this rate elephants in the wild will be extinct in 10 to 12 years. But one brave family has been working for decades to stem this tide.