AQHA judge Ruth Ellen of Frisco, Texas just came back from a trip of a lifetime. This longtime travel enthusiast is known for taking trips to far off destinations. On December 5th through the 11th, Ellen took a trip to Nairobi, Kenya to visit an elephant orphanage run by the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.
Ruth, who also is an equine consultant for her company, The Horse Source, fostered a baby elephant named, Shukuru, and decided that visiting the orphanage was on her “must do” list.
“I’ve been to six countries in Africa and the elephants have always been my favorites,” she tells GoHorseShow. “On safari, I could sit for hours and watch them.”
So, Ellen decided to use some of her air miles and make the trip to Nairobi, Kenya by herself.
“Everyone thought I was crazy to go so far for four days, but it made perfect sense to me: I wanted to go to the orphanage. The only mileage seats that were available were in first class so I didn’t suffer too much on the flights. I hired a driver who picked me up at the airport, took me to Macushla House, where I stayed, and was there the following morning and every other morning at 9:45 am to begin my elephant saturated days.”
Ruth says that one hour in the morning was a public visit where anyone can watch the elephants come in from the bush and be bottle fed milk by hand. Then, Ruth had a private visit every day at 3pm for half an hour where the elephants where brought in from the bush, bottle fed their milk and then she was allowed to be with them alone. Ellen also did the 5 to 6 pm visit which is for people who have fostered a baby elephant. It only costs $50.00 a year to foster a baby elephant!
“They are brought in from the bush for the night, returned to their stalls, given their bottles, and they lay down, most with blankets around them on mattresses and go to sleep. There is a keeper in every stall who spends the night with them. They are bottle fed every three hours around the clock,” Ellen says.
There are 18 orphans right now–17 of them saw their mothers killed by poachers. One mother died of natural causes, and she was found dead with her tusks still on.
“The elephants are usually extemely traumatized when they arrive. They have incredible memories, and their chances of recovery when they arrive are only 50/50,” Ruth explains. “The youngest was three weeks old and had been there for a week. There was another six month-old male who had also only been there for a week. He was emaciated and severely depressed. He was taking milk from the keepers but had not yet joined up with a buddy elephant.”
According to Ruth, when they reach two to two and a half years of age, the elephants are moved to another national park where they are slowly introduced to the wild herds. At that facility, they are taken into the bush every day, but sometimes, they will stay out there for several nights before returning to the familiarity of the stockades. They are free to come and go at will. It can take up to ten years to reintroduce them into the wild.
“Most of the keepers have worked there for five to ten years, and they are incredibly devoted to the babies and the orphans adore them,” she says.
Ellen explains in detail about her private sessions with the baby elephants. “These visits were off the charts. The elephants were brought in from the bush to the same area where they do the public visits. I walked among them. Rubbed on them, hugged some of them. I met Shukuru who I had fostered several months ago. I chose her to foster because her name, when translated, means ‘I am grateful.'”
Ruth adds,” I also met the elephant that I fostered as a Father’s Day gift for my husband, Mike, named, Naipoki. There was a mud hole nearby and after they splashed around in it, they rubbed up against me, slathered me with their trunks and generally made me look like them when it was all done. I learned when I got home that there are some cotton t-shirts that will never be the same if they are mud bathed by an elephant.”
Thanks to Ruth Ellen for providing some fabulous pictures and sharing her once-in-a-lifetime experience with GoHorseShow. To find out more about this organization please click here to visit their website. Click here to view a slideshow of her trip.
