Queen Camilla feeds an orphaned baby elephant at specialist wildlife centre in Nairobi on second day of state visit to Kenya

• Queen Camilla fed one of the centre’s youngest baby elephants, Mzinga
• READ MORE: Queen Camilla wears Queen Elizabeth II’s £30,000 glittering Shell Brooch and a necklace with her grandchildren’s initials on it during Kenya tour

The Queen got the chance to feed an orphaned baby elephant today.

Camilla, who was later joined by King Charles, watched a herd of orphaned elephants at play at a specialist wildlife centre near Nairobi.

She joked: ‘Is that the naughty corner’ as she pointed at a spot where some of the larger more restless ones were placed.

As she fed orphaned elephant calf Mzinga, one of the centre’s youngest at a year old, she said, ‘They look very content, very happy.’

Camilla was wearing a Liberty cotton elephant and peacock print dress by Fiona Clare with a pair of practical and clearly well-worn brown ankle boots.

Queen Camilla paid a visit to Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Elephant Orphanage in Nairobi National Park today. She was introduced to head keeper Edwin Lusichi (pictured), who has worked at the centre for more than 20 years

As she was introduced to the keepers, many who had worked at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust for decades, she said: ‘Everybody knows everybody, that’s so nice.’

The Queen was shown around by Angela Sheldrick, whose mother Dame Daphne founded the orphanage.

She was introduced to head keeper Edwin Lusichi, who has worked at the centre for more than 20 years, and the other keepers, before the baby elephant had a mud bath.

They explained that elephants often indulge in a mud bath to form a layer on their skin to protect them from insects and sunburn.

The King later joined the Queen and they heard about the work of the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.  The royals watched the baby elephants as they enjoyed their mud baths. 

Veteran keeper Edwin added: ‘They really truly never forget. Even after they’ve “graduated” to the wild and will still remember you. 

During the trip, the Queen fed one the centre’s youngest infant elephants, Mzinga (pictured), formula milk 

In addition to feeding an elephant, Camilla learned about the trust’s work in the conservation and preservation of wildlife and protected areas across Kenya, on day two of the state visit to Kenya

As Camilla fed orphaned elephant calf Mzinga, one of the centre’s youngest at a year old, she said, ‘They look very content, very happy’

The royal also watched the orphaned elephants as they played together and enjoyed a mud bath 

‘They often form a herd with other elephants we have released in to the wild. They like to be very close when they are small. As orphans we sometimes snuggle up closely with them to help them sleep,’ he said.

Roan Sheldrick, whose family run the UK and US charity, said the baby elephants are fed by formula milk that the founder his grandmother Dame Daphne Sheldrick devised.

After their visit to the elephant orphanage, Their Majesties were treated to a private evening safari at the Nairobi National Park.

The couple enjoyed a ‘sunset’ game spotting drive in an open-sided viewing vehicle.

A source said they were overjoyed to see a lion right by their vehicle, as well as crocodile, hippo, ostrich and springbok.

En route out of Narobi National Park, Charles and Camilla also visited the park’s ivory burning site.

The site is a historic location where 12 tonnes of ivory were burnt by the former Kenyan President Daniel Arap Moi in 1989.

The Queen was shown around by Angela Sheldrick (pictured in the middle), whose mother Dame Daphne founded the orphanage

To date the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust has successfully raised 316 orphan elephants and hand-raised 17 rhinos – some of which Camilla got to meet today

King Charles III later joined his wife and watched elephants playing together at the Wildlife Centre 

Most of it was intercepted before entering the market, stored, then burnt to show Kenya’s commitment to the conservation of elephants, and zero tolerance to ivory trade.

The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust was founded in 1977 by Dame Daphne Sheldrick, in memory of her late husband, the naturalist and founding Warden of Tsavo East National Park, Mr. David Sheldrick.

It is renowned for its work rescuing and rehabilitating orphaned elephants through its orphanage, located within Nairobi National Park (which is run by the Kenyan Wildlife Service). 

To date the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust has successfully raised 316 orphan elephants and hand-raised 17 rhinos.

Another 55 baby elephants are known to have been born to elephants previously rescued by the orphanage. 

The protection of elephants is a cause close to Camilla’s heart, since her late brother Mark Shand set up the wildlife conservation charity Elephant Family in 2003. 

Camilla chatted with head keeper Edwin Lusichi, who has worked at the centre for more than 20 years, and the other keepers, before the baby elephant had a mud bath

To meet the elephants, Camilla donned a Liberty cotton elephant and peacock print dress by Fiona Clare with a pair of practical and clearly well-worn brown ankle boots

Camilla remarked that the elephants look ‘happy’ and ‘content’ after meeting with the orphaned animals 

Elephant Family is a wildlife conservation charity committed to building landscapes that support coexistence between humans and wildlife.

The charity supports a wide range of projects that find ways for humans and animals to live closer together – from securing a network of wildlife corridors which act as bridges between islands of forests, to relocating busy highways that slice through primary forest.

The organisation was founded in 2003 by the late Mark Shand, who died in 2014. He was deeply passionate about protecting and supporting elephants and Asian wildlife.

In 2020, Elephant Family joined forces with the British Asian Trust in a new philanthropic partnership dedicated to supporting Asia’s wildlife.

The alliance brings together the best minds in conservation, management and philanthropy to respond urgently to the growing human-wildlife conflict crisis and the loss of habitat threatening Asia’s elephants, big cats and the rural communities who live alongside them.

By combining expertise, the charities are accelerating their response and scale their impact on both.

As The Prince of Wales, The King founded the British Asian Trust in 2007 alongside British Asian business leaders. The charity works to reduce poverty and disadvantage for communities in South Asia.

This includes work in areas of anti-trafficking, education, livelihoods, mental health and conservation.

Source: Read Full Article