Even as Dame Daphne Sheldrick so bravely fought against the breast cancer that would take her life on 12 April 2018 at age 83, she was always thinking of her elephants and how she could make it better for them. In a 14 October 2017 facebook message she spoke of the newest addition to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust family, a sweet “wildborn baby” named Yoyo whose elephant mama, Yatta, was a “hand raised orphan” herself.
Not unexpectedly, Dame Daphne was & will forever be intertwined with her elephant family, those 200+ orphaned African baby elephants she helped to raise, rehabilitate & release back into the wild.
As to her “hand raised orphans”, now having wild babies of their own (26 so far), they have never failed to recognize her acts of kindness. Dame Daphne spoke of her joy at having “lived long enough” to see a once fragile little elephant from her David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust elephant family now all grown up & coming back “home” for a visit with their tiny new baby elephant calf in tow. The bond between a human and an elephant just cannot get any more tightly woven than that.
Image: The Daily Mail, Daphne sheldrick & her orphaned baby elephants at the DSWT
What an enchanting life she led. There will never be a day when our elephants in Africa will ever forget her, especially those baby elephants orphaned by poachers whose lives she (& her team at The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust) have so valiantly saved.
There will never be another Daphne Sheldrick but her legacy will live on through her daughters, Angela & Jill and grandchildren some of whom will carry on her work in elephant conservation that she started so humbly as a 28 year old, with her husband David Sheldrick.
Image: The Daily Mail: Dame Daphne Sheldrick outside Buckingham Palace with MBE
God Bless you Dame Daphne Sheldrick.
And thank you.
From those of us who always believed in your cause (elephant conservation) & from our African elephants.
“Her legacy is immeasurable and lives on in the tiny steps of baby elephants for generations to come.”
Please donate to The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Dame Daphne Sheldrick’s memory. Nothing would have pleased her more.
Image: cc flickr animalpeopleforum Dame Daphne Sheldrick with baby elephant
Read about her life story Love, Life, and Elephants : An African Love Story by Dame Daphne Sheldrick: Book Review Essay Part 1 : What an Enchanting Life!
Images: CC Flickr: Daphne Sheldrick & baby elephant AnimalPeopleForum; DSWT baby elephants single file cc wiki; Daily Mail both Daphne Sheldrick MBE Buckingham Palace & Daphne Sheldrick DSWT
Resources:
14 October 2017 DSWT facebook message from Dame Daphne Sheldrick DBE
Learn more:
From Angela Sheldrick at the DSWT “Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick D.B.E 1934-2018 – 4/13/2018“
The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Twitter @SheldrickTrust
The Daily Mail “Founder of Kenya’s iconic ‘elephant orphanage’ dies aged 83“
The Herald , Scotland “Leading elephant conservationist Daphne Sheldrick dies at 83“
Videos:
Ntv News video “Leading elephant conservationist Daphne Sheldrick succumbs to breast cancer”
Watch this dswt YouTube Video “‘Orphans’ Lullaby – Sacred Eyes String Quartet” of Sweet Baby Orphaned Elephants With Their Blankies at The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust
Image: cc wiki: DSWT baby elephants walking single file behind a keeper