Orphan elephants....

at Lilayi elephant orphanage! There are three of these lovely little elephants, 2 males and 1 female!  There were many people there today due to the holiday weekend, but it was so nice to just watch them eat and play!  

Of course, the reason this orphanage is necessary is because of poaching for elephant tusks.  At present there are 15 elephants in the programme - three here in the orphanage and 12 more in the release facility in Kafue National Park where they will be released into the wild again eventually when they are ready!

These guys do a remarkable job - the guide today was telling the group that around 55,000 elephants are poached each year in Africa which means in no less than 12 years if this continues, they will be nearing extinction!