Arusha to host first orphanage for baby elephants

 Tanzania’s first-ever orphanage for baby elephants is set to be launched next month as a new spike in wildlife poaching threatens the lives of thousands of elephants in the country.

 

The orphanage to be located in Arusha will cater for young elephants whose mothers were killed by poachers in the ongoing illegal ivory hunting spree, leaving the babies without protection, care and food. 

 

Silent Heroes, founded by veterinarian Hayley Adams, has partnered with the African Wildlife Trust to build the facility which is expected to be up and running by end of March

 

According to Adams, the first 72 hours following their abandonment is the most critical time for baby elephants.

 

 “These animals have just experienced a lot of trauma; they just witnessed their mother being killed. They are dehydrated, disoriented, stressed -- it’s a touch-and-go situation because they are highly cognitive,” she told Nature World News.

 

The plan is this: When a young elephant is found alone, it will be air rescued to the orphanage. The transport and change can be stressful and traumatic, too. Therefore, veterinarians must find a balance between bonding with the orphans and medically stabilising them. 

Sadly, however, some of the elephants don’t make it and are sensitive enough that they will give up the will to live after suffering such a loss, according to Adams.

 

“The way I look at it, it’s a great opportunity for us to learn, so that we can improve on the way things are done -- there is just so much that isn’t known about the proper care of orphans,” Adams said.

If rescued successfully, however, orphaned jumbos will spend between nine and 14 years at the orphanage before being released into the Tarangire National Park in northern Tanzania. 

 

Sitting on several hundred acres of savannah grassland, the orphanage is set-up like a nursery: The youngest and most contact-dependent elephants will be kept in stables and given 24-hour care - feedings every few hours paired with constant contact and supervision. 

 

As they get older they will be allowed to roam throughout the orphanage more freely, visit the watering hole and naturally form their own social units -- a key part of elephant lifestyles.

  

While conserving elephants is the facility’s key concern, it will not turn away other animals found suffering, such as rhinos or giraffes, Adams said. 

 

“We know there are elephants being poached daily, and people don’t always recognize that all these elephants that are being killed have families,” Adams said. “We have our work cut out for us, but I am certainly interested in elevating the standard of care for these guys, because we know they go through a lot of emotional trauma.” 

 

The orphanage plans to allow a limited amount of tourism, where people can visit the animals and watch them as they grow up. 

 

A census last year found that the elephant population in Tanzania, which depends heavily on its safari tourism industry, has declined from 110,000 in 2009 to a little over 43,000 in 2014.

 

Demand for ivory from fast-growing Asian economies such as China and Vietnam, where it is turned into jewels and ornaments, has led to a spike in poaching across sub-Saharan Africa.

 

However, Tanzanian government authorities say they have made progress over the past months in their crackdown on illegal poaching.