Elephant rescue pioneer Dame Daphne Sheldrick – we have lost an extraordinary individual

It was with great sadness that we learnt of the passing of Dr Dame Daphne Sheldrick late last week.

Daphne was, first and foremost, a rare and remarkable human being. Pioneering efforts to rescue and rehabilitate orphaned elephant calves, she was perhaps the greatest matriarch of them all and succeeded in reintroducing many of these babies back into the wild.

Elephants, however, were not the only creatures to fall under her stewardship and she rescued a myriad of other orphans, including rhino and ostriches.

A brave and outspoken advocate against ivory trade, we have been honoured to call her a life-long friend and ally; she was there for us in our formative years and has been with us since.

Mary Rice, our Executive Director, said: “Many of us have had the great privilege to meet and spend time with Daphne and her amazing team and she was instrumental in setting me on the path that brought me to EIA.

“Our thoughts and condolences go out to her family, both immediate and extended. We have lost an extraordinary individual and we will all miss her terribly.”