JimmynotPaul

A two-hour flight, mud like quicksand and a trapped mum and baby. This is elephant conservation in action: emergency response for nature’s giants. When friends far up in Samburu called us for help, we knew we had to act. We have unique expertise in this kind of rescue: last year alone, our Aerial Unit helped extract 17 elephants from similar predicaments. Our pilot loaded one of our fixed-wing aircraft with our custom elephant straps and flew north. This was the scene that greeted him: an adult and calf stuck fast in drying mud. Together with personnel from Ol Malo, Loisaba Conservancy and the Kenya Wildlife Service, we worked the straps around the elephants. First came the calf, who was easier to haul out, then the adult, who proved a much greater challenge. Mission complete, both elephants slowly got their bearings and walked off. It’s the height of the dry season, and times are difficult across the country. When Kenya’s elephants need us, wherever they may be, we will answer the call. Your donations make it possible: sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/d…

Last month, our Air Wing helped a giraffe mother who had been roaming with a snare on her leg. Our helicopter took a KWS vet close enough to dart her from the air. Then the veterinary team moved in, and 150 seconds later the snare was off. It’s one of many jobs our pilots take on in a typical month, from monitoring for illegal activity and injured animals to flying out to help with anti-poaching operations, human-wildlife conflict, orphan rescues and any field emergency. Watch the operation begin: sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/n…