The Lilayi Elephant Nursery on the outskirts of Lusaka, Zambia is part of the Elephant Orphanage Project, which is a project of Game Rangers International, established by the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation in 2007, in close collaboration with the Zambia Wildlife Authority and International Fund for Animal Welfare.
Like all babies, these eles like nothing more than playing in a muddy puddle…
The nursery is home to elephant calves, orphaned by poaching. Here they receive the round-the-clock care and attention they desperately need to get them through their vulnerable early months.
When the elephants are weaned they are relocated to the release site in the Kafue National Park where they begin the re-wilding process, taking long and regular walks into the bush. It is here they come into contact with the wild herds that one day they will rejoin.
The Elephant Orphanage Project is part of a wider programme of community outreach, education and park protection to ensure a long-term future for Zambia’s wildlife.
The Muzovu Awareness Project (‘muzovu’ means elephant in the local dialect) provides environmental education to children in the Kafue National Park region. Over 3,000 children are given the opportunity to learn about the importance of wildlife and how to live along side it. The children also get to visit the orphan elephants at the Lilayi Elephant Nursery, so that they too can fall in love and want to help protect these enigmatic creatures.
You can even adopt an orphan baby ele (just like Orson from The POWEs And The Disappearing Tusks story) through the nursery.
Check out The POWEs And The Disappearing Tusks - in this exciting adventure the POWEs help save the elephants and rhinos from poachers by coming up with an ingenious plan. A percentage of the profits from the sale of this book goes directly to the Lilayi Elephant Nursery.
To learn more about the elephant nursery please visit the Lilayi Elephant Nursery website.
Take a look at our Elephant Facts page for some fun and fascinating elephant facts (you’ll never guess how much an adult elephant weighs!!!)
(the photos and videos on this page are courtesy of Game Rangers International)