'The Sheldrick Trust – 40 Years On' is a poignant short film charting forty years of The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. The Trust, which was set up by Dame Daphne Sheldrick, DBE in memory of her late husband David in 1977, works at field level in Kenya for the protection and conservation of wildlife and wild habitats. The DSWT has pioneered hand-raising orphaned baby elephants with the Orphans' project receiving world-wide acclaim.
The UK public premiere of this special and very moving anniversary film, featuring Dame Daphne and footage from the archives, will be at the Royal Geographical Society on Thursday 12 October during the Explorers against Extinction event organised by the Real Africa Trust.
The event seeks to highlight the threat of extinction to many iconic species while also raising vital funds for conservation partners including DSWT.
Africa's wildlife is being pushed to the brink of extinction. Elephants are being killed for their ivory, and at one stage, one elephant was being killed every 15 minutes. Human-wildlife conflict is leaving behind injured and orphaned wild animals who would not survive without intervention and habitat destruction is endangering important biodiversity habitats.
The DSWT adopts a multi-faceted approach to conservation with teams working at a field level to put an end to poaching in partnership with the Kenya Wildlife Service, and to preserve endangered habitats and rescue and care for injured animals so that they can return to the wild. To date over 200 orphaned elephants are living a wild life with 25 known wild-born babies.
Famous explorers including Sir Ranulph Fiennes OBE and Colonel John Blashford-Snell OBE will be headlining the Explorers against Extinction conservation event described by Travel Africa Magazine as, 'One of the most important conservation events of the year'. Event partners include Stanfords, the world's largest map and travel book store and Sotheby's auction house.
