The Story behind the Shot:

This baby elephant is Wiva, born into the wild by Wendi, an ex-orphan from David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.
Wendi was rescued by Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in 2002, when she was just days old, her own mother a victim of poaching. Her name means "Hope." True to that name, she became the Matriarch of Sheldrick's nursery in Nairobi, then graduated to the Ithumba Rehabilitation Unit in East Tsavo where she evolved into a Matriarch of the Keeper Dependent Orphans. She now lives fully in the wild, no longer dependent on David Sheldrick's life-saving milk, yet she often returns to the unit along with other ex-orphans to visit her human family. In October, 2016, she returned with her newborn baby, Wiva, named for the weaver birds who began their yearly nesting ritual the day she was born. It is testament to Wendi's love and trust in her former human care-givers that she allows them to be so close to her first wild born baby. This is a situation that would never have existed were it not for Sheldrick, their supporters, and also the magnificent care and sacrifice by the elephant keepers, who spend months at a time away from their own families to sleep with the orphans at night and give them the love and care they need to grow and flourish.

When we visited the Rehabilitation Unit, located in a very remote area of Tsavo about 8 hours drive from Nairobi, we were struck by the dedication and commitment of the keepers, who work tirelessly and lovingly to ensure these elephants have a happy ending, despite their traumatic beginning. As a thank you for their extraordinary sacrifice, we are proud to donate 20% of the proceeds from this series to an educational fund for the keepers’ children. A year of education fees is about $2000 per child in Kenya, which may not seem like a lot to someone from the US, but it's a great amount for someone living in Kenya, where the average wage is about $13,000/year.

Quality Assurance:
Open Edition Giclee Prints are printed to the same high printing standards as Limited Edition. Each print has a wide paper border and is hand signed by me just beneath the image area. I check each one to ensure quality before it is sent to the buyer. All prints are printed to art gallery standards on high quality, acid-free papers with archival inks to ensure light fast durability. All sales are final.