The day after I landed in Nairobi Kenya, we visited the Daphne Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage on the outskirts of Nairobi.
A fenced area in the middle of the compound—about 100 x 200 feet—had the classic African reddish clay soil. Mounds and puddles in had been created by elephants’ daily eating and bathing visits.
When we arrived, about five or six baby elephants were being bottle fed. The baby elephants were were way too exited to sit still for a shot or two, and the entire scene was just too comforting to witness through the narrow viewfinder. So, no digital pictures of baby elephant being bottle fed; it’s all in my head.
After the babies were fed, the juveniles and some young adults were admitted into the area to take dust baths and get fed some fresh grass. After a few minutes, the baby elephants found their older sister or cousin and started to hang around them.
This one was about year or so old it stayed near a young female elephant, seemingly enjoying the gallon of enriched milk that she had drank. I caught just few shots of her, since her chosen babysitter was constantly moving around and socializing with other teenage girls.
Seeing elephants that close the first day in Africa, with some “patterns” shots as warmup, was more than I could ask for. I knew that my lifetime dream was going to become a reality over next three weeks in East Africa.