Ah, you must also meet this fella who’s in a awful hurry
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHDi36Gh1CJ/
These guys are Mbegu, Kauro and Kamok
https://www.instagram.com/p/BIWX3_ShkoC/
They, with all the other baby elephants, live at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, in Nairobi, Kenya
Such adorable creatures
https://www.instagram.com/p/BG4d6xfAUN3/
We have a special thing, you and me
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHud4NQB3XY/
Just look at that
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHImhb3hvvr/
These are the cutest baby elephants you have ever seen
https://www.instagram.com/p/BFc-F9pgUIQ/
But they have a really important story that more people should hear about
https://www.instagram.com/p/BGYLA8kgUFN/
Tens of thousands of elephants are killed each year by poachers, who hunt them for ivory. According to research, up to 100,000 African elephants were killed between 2011 and 2014 alone
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHPpBBkBqzW/
Elephant tusks do not grow out properly until they get older, so poachers generally ignore the calves. But once their tusks (which are really modified inscisors in the upper jaw) become noticeable, they become targets for poachers
https://www.instagram.com/p/BIjJK_EBsZo/
It’s really grotesque, what these poachers do
https://www.instagram.com/p/BGyIxgAAUNu/
As if killing mature elephants for ivory wasn’t bad enough, their deaths mean that the young elephants are left to fend for themselves. Baby elephants need their mother’s milk exclusively for two years, and partially till they are four. If they aren’t rescued, they almost certainly die
https://www.instagram.com/p/BFkhN2XgULL/
Conservation organisations like the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust rescue these orphan elephants and raise them till they are old enough to live independently
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHGUOvmhpFw/
Many of them have been re-released into the wild
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHLQ7V7BzSh/
And re-united with their families
https://www.instagram.com/p/BGj4zaZAUBy/
And these guys, the anti-poaching rangers, do everything they can to make sure that poachers don’t get to them
It’s very good but very hard work. Elephant conservation organisations like the DSWT need your help. Donations go a long way
https://www.instagram.com/p/BIC9yu4BWrU/
You can also help by educating the people around you about elephant conservation and the dangers of poaching
