Your morning adorable: Rescued elephant calves frolic at Kenya wildlife center

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Among the first to suffer as a result of Kenya’s ongoing drought are the country’s wild animals, and as we learned last month, even Kenya’s elephants are being affected.

One organization working to help them is the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, which has worked on behalf of Kenya’s animals, particularly elephants and rhinos, since the 1970s. (Dame Daphne Sheldrick, the organization’s chairperson and the wife of the late naturalist for whom it’s named, is widely recognized for her contributions to the field of wildlife rescue. She’s successfully hand-raised more than 80 needy African elephant calves, many of which were able to successfully return to the wild after benefiting from her expert care. Earlier this year, she wrote a moving op-ed piece for The Times about the L.A. Zoo’s controversial Pachyderm Forest project.)

The Sheldrick Trust’s facility is home to a number of needy African elephant calves, some of which (including the little guy above) were orphaned as a result of the drought. Hopefully, thanks to the Sheldrick Trust’s care, the worst is behind this little fellow; at any rate, he certainly seems to be having a good time playing in the mud.

See more photos of the calves playing and eating after the jump!

-- Lindsay Barnett

Photo credits:

1st, 2nd, 3rd photos: Stephen Morrison / European Pressphoto Agency
4th photo: Karel Prinsloo / Associated Press