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The following is WENDI's Orphan Profile.
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Quick Facts about  WENDI
 

Gender  Female Date of Birth  Wednesday, September 11, 2002
Location Found  Imenti Forest Meru
Age on Arrival  Days old to a Week
Comments on Place Found  A victim of Human disturbance, found in a swamp in Meru- thought to be a twin
Reason for being Orphaned  Poaching

She is an Imenti Forest Elephant, and arrived only days old, perhaps just a week, with a moist umbilical cord, soft black hair on her skin and a tiny short trunk. Being so young, she really has no comprehension yet, other than the fact she needs food and someone bigger to follow and be with.

She was found in a swamp near the all but gone Imenti Forest, all alone, on the morning of 18th September 2002, the rest of the herd having fled, no doubt due to human disturbance. We have named her "Wendi", which in the Meru tribal dialect means "Hope" and we have named her thus, hoping that CITES makes the decision to hold the ban on the sale of Ivory, which will bring "hope" for the survival of elephants "hope" that the Imenti elephants will one day have a safe corridor to the forests of Mount Kenya and meet up with lost friends from whom they are now isolated by human settlement, and "hope" that the K.W.S. Warden of Meru, who was responsible for such a very efficient rescue, has a career full of "hope" within the Kenya Wildlife Service and above all, "hope" that little "HOPE" will survive.

Baby Wendi and Julius

Sucking Julius's thumb



Rearing a newborn elephant always presents a challenge, which we feel confident to meet, as long as there are no serious physical defects. One ear is bent down the middle, like a folded piece of parchment, and we think the little elephant must have been lying like this in the womb. We feel that she may even be a twin restricted in womb space for the ear to have suffered such pronounced damage. We hope that the blood supply to the damaged ear will be sufficient for nature to work miracles and mend it. Little "Wendi" is miniscule, and is having powdered Colostrum in her first bottles of milk, just in case she is younger than we think and has not had the benefit of her mother's first milk containing all the vital antibodies she will need for survival in a harsh world. She has been given an antibiotic injection to prevent pneumonia (since she was found in a swamp).

Wendi being protected from the sun



Since she is too young to understand the loss of her elephant mother, she faces the future without the psychological trauma that troubles calves orphaned older. She is beautiful, and can be assured of a love of tender loving care from her adopted human family, and foster-parents worldwide who care deeply about all elephants. Hold thumbs for little "Wendi" from the Imenti Forest in Meru.

 


US$ 50 is the minimum fostering fee

To select a different Orphan Please Click Here


The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust   P.O. Box 15555 Nairobi Kenya

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