The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust elephant and rhino orphanage, inside the western end of Nairobi National Park, offers a wonderful opportunity to see baby elephants being bottle-fed and playing with each other. Keepers give a talk on each elephant, explaining their names and life histories and how they came to be orphaned — it’s a great place to go, and you can even adopt a baby elephant.
The trust was run for many years by Dame Daphne Sheldrick in memory of her husband David Sheldrick, founding warden of Tsavo National Park. Dame Daphne passed away in 2018, but the hand-rearing methods and substitute milk formula she developed over decades of trial and error are now being replicated across Africa. During the hour-long open house (11:00am–12:00pm), keepers bring their juvenile charges out to play, with mud baths and football games, before coming up to an informal rope barrier where visitors can easily take photos while keepers explain how orphaned elephants are cared for.
Note: a visit to the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage requires advance booking and is subject to availability if booked less than three months (90 days) before your activity date.