ELEPHANT ORPHANAGE OPENS IN ARUSHA

President Jakaya Kikwete is  expected soon  to inaugurate the country’s first ever baby elephant orphanage in Arusha,  an event which will go in sync with the christening (naming) of the first jumbo calf to be adopted under the facility.
 The Minister for Natural resources and Tourism, Mr Lazaro Nyalandu said the so-called ‘Ivory Orphanage,’ is  going to start with 52 baby  elephants.
The  “Ivory Orphanage,”  running under close supervision from the Arusha-based, Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI) will cater  for jumbo calves  deflected after their mothers were killed by poachers in the ongoing illegal ivory hunting spree affecting the nation.
 The structure, divided into more than 50 cubicles each to house a baby elephant, features soft saw-dust floors, complete with a bed which is covered by special sheets.  The baby elephants are expected to sleep on real beds, fed special foods and given real milk throughout the time that they are to be nurtured at  the special home.
 The pioneer elephant orphanage is located within the TGT country club, off the main Arusha-Dodoma road section of the ‘Great North Road.’
 “Tanzania won’t be the first country to set up such facility,  our neighbours, Kenya established an elephant orphanage first,” said the Minister adding that the project is a  temporary one because the country is working to replenish the jumbo population back to the original 100,000 elephants by the year 2030.
 The baby elephants will be kept at the Ivory Orphanage for three years after which the now grown up jumbos will  be released back  to the wild to mix with others   in parks or game reserves.
 The Ivory orphanage follows recent reports that Tanzania has lost nearly 80,000 elephants killed in the past five years through poaching activities that have been plaguing the nation.
According to zoological experts, many of the killed giant mammals left behind a number of helpless jumbo calves wondering about in the wild unattended, thus the need to adopt some of them into the Arusha facility.
The elephant orphanage will be similar to the Rhino Sanctuary which currently operates within the Mkomazi National Park straddling  Mwanga and Same Districts in Kilimanjaro Region.
 The latest wildlife Census report indicate that the country is currently left with only 43,500  elephants , which is less than 40 percent of the original elephant population totaling  110,000 five years ago.

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