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Wild Orphans Book:
Gerry spent two years with the
orphaned elephants at the David
Sheldrick Wildlife Trust at the Nairobi
National Park in Kenya, in order to
document the rescues, daily lives and
preparation to return to the wild for
these young elephants who have
fallen victim to natural and unnatural
disasters.
In the summer of 1999, prolonged drought and increased ivory
poaching brought more orphaned baby elephants to the Trust in
one season that it had seen in the entire previous decade. Gerry
followed, photographed, and got to know eight of the young
elephants who were one month to one year old when they arrived
at the Wildlife Trust. Through more than 100 photographs and
accompanying text, we meet the "Orphan 8".We learn of the
challenges of raising them, observe as the youngsters recover from
their injuries and fear, adjust to life at the Trust, develop
relationships with one another and with their human keepers,and
eventually move to Tsavo National Park, where they will be
released into the wild. An essay by Gerry introduces each of the
book's six chapters. Detailed explanations accompany all
photographs -not as captions, but full-sized text.
In the words of one reviewer, "I've long been a fan of Gerry Ellis' fine
art nature photography, but "Wild Orphans" is fantastic
photojournalism and more personal work than I have seen from
Ellis before. Ellis' love for this project shows."
poaching brought more orphaned baby elephants to the Trust in
one season that it had seen in the entire previous decade. Gerry
followed, photographed, and got to know eight of the young
elephants who were one month to one year old when they arrived
at the Wildlife Trust. Through more than 100 photographs and
accompanying text, we meet the "Orphan 8".We learn of the
challenges of raising them, observe as the youngsters recover from
their injuries and fear, adjust to life at the Trust, develop
relationships with one another and with their human keepers,and
eventually move to Tsavo National Park, where they will be
released into the wild. An essay by Gerry introduces each of the
book's six chapters. Detailed explanations accompany all
photographs -not as captions, but full-sized text.
In the words of one reviewer, "I've long been a fan of Gerry Ellis' fine
art nature photography, but "Wild Orphans" is fantastic
photojournalism and more personal work than I have seen from
Ellis before. Ellis' love for this project shows."
| Yes - the Wild Orphans book is still out there - try here via Amazon books for the few book dealers that have a copy. We are discussing reprinting the book with the original publisher Welcome Books - we will post something here when and if that occurs. Thanks to all who have asked. |
Find more about Natumi on Gerry's blog as well as updates on Gerry's
return journey in a new website that has been created specifically
around the Wild Orphans project.
return journey in a new website that has been created specifically
around the Wild Orphans project.