BY: M.Sheva
This story is like a fairytale
Except it's entirely true
And we don't know yet how it will end
But it begins a long time ago
In a land far away, with not one but two ...
Real life fairy god mother
Daphne Sheldrick was born in kenya
And lived with her family in Tsavo National Park
When poachers killed elephants for their ivory tusks
Daphne adopted their orphaned babies
Halfway around the world
In the jungles of Borneo
Biruté Galdikas came to study wild orangutans
But as loggers cut down the rainforest and drove orangutans out
Biruté rescued and raised the little ones left behind
Both women made the same promise to the animals in their care
To raise them only as long as they needed help
And to prepare them to one day return to the wild
BORN TO BE WILD
It's been over 50 years since Daphne Sheldrick first adopted orphaned elephants
Sities come
She's created a safe haven for them at a very special nursery just outside Nairobi
About three and a half months?
What's the umbilicus like ?
These little orphans, have been rescued from all over Kenya
They may look big but they're just little children
The biggest ones still babies themselves
They instinctively take care of little Sities who's just 3 months old
Daphne established this nursery after her husband David passed away
It's a place for the orphans to heal physically and emotionally
The elephants helped me to turn a page in my life
And I try to do the same for them
We've rescued over 200 baby elephants
Most have lived, but others haven't
Before Daphne, nobody had ever successfully raised an infant elephant
It took me 28 years of hard work
Before I finally developed a milk formula that would help them grow up big and strong
Kilaguni is almost 2 now
His mother was killed by poachers
He stayed by her side
And when hyenas came in the night they attacked him, and bit off his tail
Good boy
But he is healed and happy now and a favourite of the others
He doesn't like a noise, eh?
Without their mothers to provide shade
Little elephants need lots of sunscreen so their ears don't get burnt
They're just like our own children lovable one moment, naughty the next
Thousands of miles away in Indonesia
Dr. Biruté Galdikas continues her lifelong effort to save orphaned orangutans
Over 300 of them live here, at her care center on the island of Borneo
All these orangutans are here for one reason
Their mothers have been killed and their forest home cut down
These are the lucky ones, who survived
They are so fragile as infants
Like our own kids, they need lots of love and attention
I've studied wild orangutans for 40 years
And we use that knowledge to stimulate the different stages of orangutan development
With humans acting as surrogate mothers
These orangutans are the same age as human toddlers
They are too immature to play in the real jungle
But a jungle gym helps them learn the skills they will eventually need in the wild
Young orangutans still need milk And lots of it
Orangutans here are under human care
But not control
They need to retain their wildness
These orphans grow up so differently than wild orangutans
But as long as they feel loved, they will have the confidence they need later in life
I often wonder, if they miss the touch of their real mother
Or do they even remember her at all
Family is the most important part of an elephant’s life
They live in herds, so it takes a team of people to replace the loved ones that they’ve lost
People always ask me how we choose the keepers?
The truth is, the elephants do
They can read your heart
And they understand how you genuinely feel about them
Edwin our head keeper, loves the elephants
And they love him
Elephants won't live unless they are happy
We keep them as happy as possible entertaining them and playing little games
When a little elephant starts to play
You know they're going to win
Come, sities, come, come
Orangutans are happiest at play in the jungle
And this group is now old enough to explore the forest that surrounds the care center
These trees bear the same fruits they will find in the rainforest
For many, it’s their first taste of the wild
This is Sanaga
He knows all the best spots to find fruit
like wild durian, a stinky but delicious treat
All orangutans have their own personality
Ombray, is a real comedian
I'll never forget Ombray's rescue
We drove for hours through a giant palm oil plantation
It was once pristine rainforest and home to Ombrey's mother
She was killed and he was captured and kept as a pet
But orangutans are not meant to be pets
My son Fred, has a special touch with orangutans
Ombrey refused to get in our truck
He had his heart set on another ride
Young orangutans cling to their mothers for dear life
So holding on tight, is in their blood
At the end of a long day
The elephants return home, escorted by Daphne’s grandsons
- I saw a spring hare - a spring hare?
- yeah, It was 2 feet and it had a tail that long - Really, what, was it down there?
I’ve lived amongst nature my whole life
I've cared for animals as big as elephants
And as small as this little hyrax
And I've loved them all the same
In the wild, baby elephants would never be left alone
So here, the keepers always stay with them
Even through the night
Like all new orphans
Sities has difficulty sleeping
Elephants do have an incredible memory
But sometimes what they remember is awfully sad
Sleep well, Sities
Birute’s research station
Camp Leakey, is deep in the jungles of Tanjung Puting National Park
Home to the largest population of wild orangutans left in the world
For 30 years, Biruté lived here
And raised orphan orangutans in the surrounding forest
They're wild now
But sometimes come back to Camp Leakey to visit
It’s the only place in the world ...
Where humans and great apes are truly equal
I've had this feeling ever since I was very young
The tropical rain forest represents the original Garden of Eden
Our ancestors left the Garden
But orangutans never did
They maintained a childlike innocence that we humans lost ...
A long, long time ago
Many of the orangutans released here have succeeded in the wild
And are now mothers and grandmothers themselves
Tom is the dominate male in the area
He weighs over 300 pounds
And is the wild- born son of an orangutan Biruté raised 35 years ago
Like the orangutans, I started my own family at Camp Leakey
Our children played together and grew up together
I came to Borneo looking for animals to study
I never thought I’d find lifelong friends
Don't steal my coffee I bet you will
Hi Siswi
Bye
Both Biruté and Daphne do much more than raise rescued animals
Their organizations help protect the national parks
where their orphans will eventually live
Tsavo National Park is home to the largest population of elephants in Kenya
The old bulls are the scouts and guardians of the elephant herds
They live apart from the females and their young
- Hello, hello mam Daphne? - Yes?
A patrol has spotted something wrong
A baby elephant among a group of bulls
His mother has been poached
He needs milk to survive, but they can't feed him
If he's not rescued soon, this little elephant will die
Well, we will mobilize a rescue team and a plane We will be ready in the nursery
The rangers must be bold to drive the bulls off
They can easily flip over a truck
A female herd would defend the baby to the end
But the bulls know he doesn't belong
Most orphans come in extremely traumatized
This elephant has seen his family killed by human beings
So he sees us as the enemy
He's terrified and doesn't understand that we want to help
By morning, the new orphan has a name Kandecha
He’s begun to trust the keepers and is finally getting the nourishment he needs to survive
He’s joined this little family just as Kilaguni is about to say goodbye
Orangutans typically leave their mothers when they're 7 or 8 years old
As the orphans reach that age ...
Biruté and her staff identify which ones are ready to thrive on their own
Wild orangutans don’t live in groups
They are solitary so they must take care of themselves
Ombrey will be a great wild orangutan one day, but he’s still too young
Sanaga and Pushka are building their own nests
They’ve become more independent and I feel they no longer need us
Before being cleared to join the wild population
all orangutans get a thorough check-up
Sanaga is healthy, and ready to go home
So is Kilaguni
It’s graduation day for him and two other elephants
As with many big changes in life
The first step can be the hardest one to take
Kilaguni, come, come, c'mon
A remote compound in the middle of Tsavo will be the elephants home for the next few years
It’s a halfway house where they’ll live until they no longer need human help
What happens next is truly astounding
Dozens of ex-orphans ...
All living wild now, come from many miles away
To greet the babies
Elephants have amazing powers of perception and communication
It's one of the great mysteries of the natural world
The orphans will always love their human family
But in time, these older elephants will take over ...
And lead them into the elephant kingdom
Kilaguni and the others will be milk dependent for 3 more years
They’re still vulnerable
So they’ll sleep here where they’ll be safe from the lions outside
Their journey to freedom takes Sanaga and Pushka deeper and deeper ...
Into Tanjung Puting National Park
where one of the last pockets of orangutan habitat still remains
With every step, I feel a flood of mixed emotions
I'm happy
But I'm also worried
It’s a dangerous world, and I won’t be there to protect them
Their long detour through the human world is about to end
There you go, There you go Pushka
You can go, c'mon, you can go That's a good vine
It’s hard to say goodbye
But this is their destiny
They were born to be wild
On their first day in Tsavo
The wild ex-orphans lead Kilaguni and his friends to a waterhole
Where they revel in the freedom of a wild life
The big elephants took this step many years ago
They know that Kilaguni is too young to join them now
They've come to say ...
You're part of our family
You're one of us, and we love you
Our job is almost done now
It’s up to the ex-orphans to teach the little ones how to be wild elephants again
The animals in this story, are like us in so many ways
They want to grow up free
And raise their families in a world that’s safe
And if we let them disappear from this Earth ...
Then a part of us will disappear too
These orphans have been given a second chance at life
But whether they’ll live happily ever after ...
Depends on us
By: M.Sheva