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Daphne Sheldrick founded the trust in 1977 in memory of her husband David, and it now runs the most successful orphan elephant programme anywhere. The nursery on the edge of Nairobi National Park takes in calves left by poaching, drought and conflict with people, hand-raises them, and moves them on to reintegration units in Tsavo where they rejoin wild herds in their own time.
The nursery opens to the public for exactly one hour a day, between 11am and noon, when the orphans come in for milk and a mud bath. Keepers introduce each calf by name and tell you where it was found and how it is getting on. Orphaned black rhino are sometimes in residence too. It is a short visit and an unexpectedly affecting one, and it must be booked in advance. The entrance donation, transfers, drinking water and a guide are included.
