Vehicle Safari & Elephant Orphange

During the middle of a 7-day trip, an off day provided the opportunity to partake in a 3-hour vehicle safari in the Nairobi National Park.

We departed on the safari in a 7-person Safari-Minibus, which has a large pop-up roof for wildlife viewing and photography.  Since it is the rainy season in Kenya, the boss and I were the only passengers...with the cool morning temperatures and light rain we were definately under dressed.  To top it off, my camera died after the first picture...but we were still able to capture the following photographs. 

The next stop was the Elephant Orphanage.  The orphanage currently houses 17 baby elephants under 2-years old.  Since the elephants are being reintroduced to the wild after a traumatic seperation, they are only available for viewing by the public for 1-hour as part of an awareness and fundraising effort.  Elephants are highly emotional animals and need constant interaction and companionship...like people, they all have different personalities.

The elephants are accompanied by keepers, who become replacement parents...they are with the animals 24-hours per day.  A keeper actually sleeps in each elephants stall. 

The elephant keepers are recruited from the rural parts of Africa and have a 3-month trial period...some keepers are never able to develop a bond and the elephants will reject them.  The most senior keeper had been there 22 years.