‘Miracles and heartbreak’: saving orphaned elephants as Kenya’s drought devastates herds

Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is nursing record numbers of young animals back to health but as rains continue to fail, the vulnerable mammals face a challenging future

It had been a tricky shoot for Alvin Kaunda, a young Kenyan television reporter, but finally, after about 10 takes, he was managing to get through it. His subject: a heartfelt dispatch about the plight of elephants caught up in the drought. His backdrop: three dust-red, flappy-eared orphans chomping through the greenery of their Nairobi home.

For about 30 seconds, Kaunda spoke movingly about the impact of human activity on the ecosystem. Then it all started to go awry. First, a trunk appeared in the reporter’s left ear, then on his head, then attached itself to his nose, mistaking it, perhaps, for a spot of lunch. Kaunda, who had soldiered on heroically until this point, collapsed into giggles.

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