travelling-blogger

comments

Peter Mbulu is on a mission to save Kenya's orphaned baby elephants.

In a country where poaching runs rampant, this man's quest is particularly admirable.

Each morning, Mbulu wakes before the sun to awaken his 21 baby elephants to take them to the park.

Scroll down for video 

Open wide: Every morning Peter Mbulu tends to his elephants ensuring they are nourished and well fed

Peter Mbulu has 21 baby elephants in his care

The elephants march in single file, following Mbulu to Nairobi National Park.

'I'm a keeper of wild orphaned elephant babies and everyday I have to take these young elephant babies out into the park so they can spend their day in a natural environment,' Mbulu says.

'They need freedom and exposure into natural environment.'

Mbulu has been an elephant keeper at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust for the past 10 years.

His job is to raise the young elephants that have been orphaned or abandoned, often due to ivory poaching.

Morning: Mbulu will feed his elephants before taking them to Nairobi National Park

Protection: The calves are kept warm and protected by a caring owner

Last year, in Kenya alone, 13.5 tonnes of ivory were recovered.

The industry is estimated to be worth £12 billion annually. 

'I want to help these animals because they are facing very bad problems,' he adds.

'Their mothers are being killed and no one is trying to help them except here in the nursery.'

'It's a good job to do because you can see what you are doing and the impact that you bring to the lives of these orphans.'

Mbulu spends his entire day with the elephants, some as young as three months, nursing them back to health and even bottle-feeding the milk-dependent ones. 

He also stands watch for predators, like lions.

The animals depend on their caretakers as fully as a human child would.

Selfless: Mbulu also takes on the role of doctor when he has to care and treat the sick elephants

In fact, the keepers rotate their bottle-feeding duties to ensure that the elephants don't bond too closely and threaten their chances for survival in the wild.

'The public viewing is very important because it's the time for the public to see the work that we do here,' Mbulu says.

'The majority of the orphans here are because of poaching and human-wildlife conflict, which is very challenging nowadays.'

Many of the elephants were attacked by the same humans who killed their mothers. 

'That's the reason we have to forward the awareness to the public,' he concludes.

Touching moment: Even the elephants seem to recognise that they are in safe hands with Mbulu