Duke

Black rhinos are creatures of habit – and every morning begins with a long drink at Chamboi's favourite water trough before going into the bush. A rescued newborn in late 2023, Chamboi has grown remarkably over the past two years, but his journey is just beginning: sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/o...

Foster parent update! Check your inbox 📧

It's packed with heartwarming stories from the orphans! Discover how Kaikai deals with bullies, watch Wamata blossom into the perfect nanny, and find out which ex-orphans returned home... with their new babies 🐘💕

www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.o...

The Umani grandcalves are a delightful lot.

Mwana used to start all the games. Now she's the responsible big sister – while Lenny perches on top of her and Sulwe strikes a pose. Chief troublemakers, both of them. All born wild to orphans we rescued and raised.

sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/n...

'Brave' isn't a big enough word to describe the orphans in our care. Nothing can erase their past, but we can offer them the wild future they deserve. There is always space for one more our foster family – could it be you? sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/a...

Seven new grandcalves at Voi in three months. We're overrun!

Cousins Panya and Mica – fun-that-turned-into-a-fight. A few headbutts later, both backed off. Just recharging for the next rumble.

Meet them: sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/o...

Keeper Joseph takes charge of the camera to capture why the Keepers have christened her "our little frog."

To her, it must feel like the whole world revolves around her whims.

Welcome Korbessa into your life through an adoption: swt.bio/korbessa

Our SWT/KWS Mobile Vet Units cover thousands of kilometres each year – treating arrow wounds, freeing animals from snares, responding to drought emergencies. Working hand in hand with our aerial and ground teams, they're often the only hope for wildlife in distress: www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.o...

Snares don't discriminate. Set for bushmeat, they trap any animal in their path. Our SWT/KWS Vet Units treat the victims – but we're tackling it at source too. 29 anti-poaching teams on daily patrol seized 13,978 snares last year. See our impact: www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.o...

The Keepers call Korbessa "our little frog" – she loves sitting with her legs splayed out.

Rescued from a well near Meru in 2023, she arrived tiny but full of character and became Kaluku's undisputed mini-matriarch.

See her journey: swt.bio/korbessa

Thanks to you, orphaned elephants always have a home.

For the youngest, that means a Keeper beside them through the night – sleeping above them, waking for feeds, offering comfort when they need it most.

Learn more: sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/p...

Not all our Keepers wear green!

Zebra foals imprint on their mothers by recognising their unique patterns of stripes. When we rescued this little foal - orphaned after a lion attack - we dusted off our Zebra coat, so that she didn’t feel alone and knew who to follow.

We have such exciting news to share! Our first grandkid of 2026 made her debut yesterday — Arruba gave birth to a beautiful baby girl!

More to come, but we couldn’t wait to celebrate this special moment! We rescued Arruba in 2013, when she was just a tiny baby herself: swt.bio/arruba

When Korbessa mastered holding her own bottle, our Keepers faced a new problem – getting it back. She wouldn't let go. Eventually, they gave up and distracted her with a dust bath. It worked. Eventually.

Rescued as a newborn, now cheeky, confident, and growing wonderfully.

swt.bio/korbessa

Can you see it? A snare, cinched tight around a tiny calf's trunk.

Snares don't discriminate. This calf was successfully treated – but in one month alone, our teams confiscated 1,544 snares.

Every wire removed is a life saved.

sheldrickwildlifetrust.org

22 months of pregnancy – the longest of any mammal – and Zongoloni's seemed to stretch on forever. But Zigi was worth the wait.

She was notorious for trying to 'kidnap' friends' babies. Now, at last, she has a son of her own.

sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/n...

Young Lenny has quite the reputation at Umani – energetic high jinks is his speciality.

We suspect mum Lima Lima is cleverly using us as a babysitting service to steal a few moments' respite. A role we're more than happy to embrace.

sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/n...

43,066 kilometres patrolled in one month. That's the distance around the Earth's equator.

27,678 hours in the field. 1,544 snares removed. 29 arrests. Every snare removed is a life saved.

sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/n...

Rescued a week apart. Orphaned for the same tragic reason – their mothers fell off cliffs.

Tytan the rhino and Notty the zebra have been healing together ever since. An unlikely pair who completed each other's family.

sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/o...

Within a sea of trunks stands little Mica. Where he goes, they go – big cousin Mwitu taking her babysitting duties very seriously.

Family is everything to elephants. Mbirikani, our snare survivor, brought her firstborn home for the holidays.

sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/n...

We set out to rescue an orphan – and ended up saving a bull too.

Our pilot spotted baby Arthi alone in the bush. Flying to rescue him, he spotted a second elephant: an adult with a snare cutting deep into his foot.

Two lives saved in one day.

swt.bio/arthi

Daba means "behind" in Somali. When we found him, utterly alone, his herd never came.

Now he's at the Nursery with Muridjo – our gentle mini-matriarch – firmly under her wing.

The little boy left behind will never be alone again.

swt.bio/daba

Kihari arrived in 2011, a poaching orphan so weak she could barely stand. Now she's a wild mother – and little Kiki has inherited her spirited personality.

Spot Kihari in a crowd? She's the one with one tusk – and one very mischievous shadow.

sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/n...

We’ve welcomed a quintet of tiny trunks into the world since the start of December – and little Kiki is one of them.

Her mother, Kihari, was rescued as an orphan of poaching in 2011. Now she’s raising the next wild generation. Each wild-born baby is a victory for conservation.

2025 saw the rescue of orphans big (Chapeyu) and small (Kipekee, Kaikai, Daba, Tytan, and Pips, to name a few). It also saw the births of 19 elephant calves born to orphans we rescued, raised, and reintegrated back into the wild – reminding us how one life saved leads to generations of elephants.

Kaikai woke up with a spring in her step – she was off to spend the day with her big friends.

Mwinzi flopped on the ground, trying to get her to play. Korbessa? Jealous. She kept trying to lure Kaikai away to form a ‘girls only’ club.

swt.bio/kaikai

Three against one might seem unfair. Zigi, Lenny, and Sulwe often gang up, leaving Mwana outnumbered.
But she’s Umani’s first grandbaby, with devoted nannies and one famously protective mother. A little cousin mischief? She handles it with grace.
sheldrickwildlifetrust.org

Korbessa never met a guinea fowl she didn't want to chase. A throwback to her neonate days – ears flared, trunk raised, charging with wholehearted determination.

May we all carry such enthusiasm into 2026.

Happy New Year from all of us at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.

When Kerrio and Olomunyak wandered off, Mzinga knew exactly where to go – straight to her best friend Nyambeni.

What did they do? Found a patch of dusty soil and rubbed their faces in it together. No words needed.

sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/o...

Kipekee joined our Nairobi Nursery this year and became the most loved elephant in Kenya. Not a moment goes by when she isn’t surrounded by adoring trunks, offering touches and reassurance.

Our thanks to all our adopters who enable us to give Kipekee - and all the orphans - the love of a family.

Shy at first glance, mischievous at heart – Daba is the adorable young bull who joined our orphan herd just this September. Over the coming days, we'll share the story of how he came to us, but we already know one thing: you're going to fall head over heels for him, just as we have: swt.bio/daba