Winner
Brent Stirton
Getty Images
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"GOD'S IVORY"
NAIROBI, KENYA, JULY 2011: A baby orphan elephant and her keeper inside her stall at the Daphne Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage in Nairobi, Kenya. This orphan is the victim of a poaching incident, her mother was killed for her tusks and the baby left to fend for herself. She was fortunate enough to be recovered by the Sheldrick Conservancy and brought to the orphanage, where there are a large number of baby elephant who are similar victims of the illegal ivory trade. She will live with a dedicated keeper who functions as her parent, she spends her days with the other elephants but sleeps at night in the stall with her keeper in an extraordinary relationship which symbolises what is possible between man and animals. After a two year period she will be moved to another orphanage in Tsavo reserve and from there will be acclimatised for a move back to the bush and a natural way of life. There are very few of these facilities for orphaned babies and Sheldrick's is the only one which has stable funding.
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