On the ground with the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and IAG Cargo

• Based in Kenya, the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust works to rehabilitate orphaned baby elephants back into the wild
  
• Orphaned elephants can get cold without the support of a herd, needing blankets to prevent them from catching pneumonia
  
• Every year, IAG Cargo, the cargo division of International Airlines Group, donates hundreds of old airline blankets to the DSWT
  

There are currently just 500,000 to 750,000 Asian and African elephants left on Earth. Tragically, this number is fast depleting, with some 100 African elephants poached each day for their tusks and meat. With the threat of extinction looking more and more likely in our lifetime, it’s never been more crucial to protect this incredible, but highly endangered species.

Since its foundation in 1977, the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust has fostered orphaned baby elephants that have lost their herds and mothers as a result of poachers and forceful separation. After three years of rehabilitation at the orphanage, the keepers at the Trust work to reintegrate the elephants into the wild. In the wild elephants keep warm by staying in their herds but, when an elephant is orphaned, they are unable to sustain adequate body temperature on their own.

This is why every year IAG Cargo donates hundreds of airline blankets to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, ensuring their baby elephants are warm, and are protected from common diseases such as pneumonia before they are reintroduced into the wild. The most recent delivery of hundreds of airline blankets will go to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust to help keep baby elephants warm.