Daphne Sheldrick

Dame Daphne Marjorie Sheldrick, DBE (née Jenkins; born 4 June 1934) is a Kenyan-British author, conservationist and expert in animal husbandry, particularly the raising and reintegrating of orphaned elephants into the wild for over 30 years.

The Kenya-born Daphne Jenkins was educated at Nakuru Primary School and the Kenya High School where she matriculated in 1950 with Honours and the possibility of a bursary to attend university; however she opted for marriage. From 1955-76, she was co-warden of with her late husband, David Sheldrick (MBE).

During that time she raised and rehabilitated back into the wild community orphans of misfortune from many different wild species, including elephants, black rhinos, buffalo, zebras, elands, kudus, impalas, duikers, reedbuck, dikdiks, warthogs, civets, mongooses and birds. She is a recognized authority on the rearing of wild creatures and is the first person to have perfected the milk formula and necessary husbandry for both infant milk-dependent elephants and rhinos.

After her husband's death in 1977, Daphne Sheldrick created the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (DSWT) in Nairobi, Kenya. Embracing the conservation, preservation and protection of wildlife in Kenya, the DSWT today operates the most successful orphan-elephant rescue and rehabilitation program in the world alongside Anti-Poaching Teams, Mobile Veterinary Units and Aerial Surveillance and a Sky Vet initiative in partnership with the Kenya Wildlife Service. Other projects which aim to safeguard the natural environment and enhance community awareness include Saving Habitats and Community Outreach projects.

Best known for their pioneering Orphans' Project, the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust has successfully rescued over 180 orphaned elephants and reintegrated over 90 back into the wild.

For her work in this field, Sheldrick was decorated by Queen Elizabeth II of England in 1989 with an MBE, and separately elevated to UNEP's Global 500 Roll of Honour in 1992, where she was among the first 500 people worldwide to have been accorded this particular honor. Sheldrick was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine and Surgery by Glasgow University in June 2000. In December 2001 her work was honoured by the Kenya Government through the prestigious Moran of the Burning Spear (MBS) decoration. In 2002, the BBC recognized Sheldrick with their Lifetime Achievement Award. In the November 2005 issue of the Smithsonian Magazine, Daphne Sheldrick was named as one of 35 people worldwide who have made a difference in terms of animal husbandry and wildlife conservation. Queen Elizabeth II appointed Daphne Sheldrick a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2006 New Year’s Honours List, "[f]or services to the conservation of wildlife, especially elephants, and to the local community in Kenya", the first knighthood to be awarded in Kenya since the country received Independence in 1963.

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