MY JOURNEY SUPPORTING ELEPHANTS
Maktao and Lominyek, are the names of my two beloved adopted elephants taken care by Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, one of the best organizations in the world. I have deep love for all animals, and I truly believe they need to be protected. There are only 40,000-50,000 elephants left in the wild, and this classifies them as endangered. The African elephant is the world’s largest land mammal and reaching full size at 35-40 years old, are endangered. This makes me sad, because elephants as animals are so alike human beings. Loving, protecting and nurturing family members along with teaching their calves how to survive.
It took me a while to educate myself about elephants and I had many resources to do so starting from the internet, reading books like Elephants in Heaven and the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust website. In the first few months of 2020, I happened to be creating my bucket list and my goals are usually something with purpose. I came across Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and learned about the opportunity to adopt elephants. This got me very excited and that is when I spent longer hours learning more about elephants, their herds, and the idea of a matriarch.
That is when I decided to adopt elephants Maktao and Lominyek, Maktao being 3 years old and Lominyek exactly my age and we share the same birthday. For me the best part of adopting elephants is how human-like they are and how connected I feel. I also feel so strongly associated with a purpose and this drives me. I urge you all to be more mindful about how our actions effect all animals, not just elephants. As long as I know, I want to continue supporting these elephants and always do more and more with age.
I also want to share some amazing details with which Sheldrick Wildlife Trust operates, as I think it really makes a difference. The Orphan Project as they call it is a way to support baby elephants that have been abandoned or hurt in the wild, due to natural causes or human-wildlife conflict. Elephants are killed frequently for their tusks, and this ivory is then sold in black markets all across the world. It is shocking, but true that these things still happen today and on a wide scale. Baby elephants depend on mother’s milk for approximately three years, and when the mothers are poached and killed, the baby calves are abandoned. They die in a few days due to starvation, lack of support or attacked by other wild animals. This is where they come in to rescue and help these animals.
When you adopt an elephant, every month I receive an update about my adopted elephants and a monthly sketch by Angela Sheldrick. These updates are so precise, almost like story-telling and makes you feel so connected with the cause. That is why I love being associated with this trust and will continue to be associated to them. You can adopt elephants for as little as $50 a year.
This is an exclusive page on the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust where you can adopt the elephants on their website. This is where you can surf for which elephants you want to adopt. Here is how…
Another wonderful detail are this adoption certificate is you receive, with monthly updates, and water colour sketches.
Lastly, this is one of the best photos for me since it includes one of my adopted elephants Maktao. I urge everyone to take this small little effort to support these animals and make a big difference in a small way.
Lots of Love,
Road Dress Travelled x
* This article was originally published here
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