Travel Blogs Pt3: Animal Orphanage

In Mount Kenya National Park, an animal orphanage was built to take in injured or homeless wild animals in Kenya. It provides medical care for them and prepares them for reintroduction to nature afterwards.

The orphanage keeps Common Elands, cheetahs, lions, hyenas, vervet monkeys, tortoises, various birds, and other animals. The pictures of them are attached below

The animals kept here are in good mental and physical conditions, and no obvious physical injuries were seen, so I assumed that they are recovering pretty well. Except one lioness, whose left eye is completely damaged and blind. Her name is Shujaa. She was rescued in late August 2023, when she was discovered by herders near one of the Kenyan villages. For safety concerns of their herds and the people in the village, the herders immediately contacted Lion Landscape, which was very correct. Lion Landscape and Kenya Wildlife Service ( KWS) could not locate this lion’s mother unfortunately, so she was brought to the Animal Orphanage for proper care. After she was brought to the orphanage, a thorough medical examination was conducted to evaluate her conditions. The researchers found out that she has cloudy films covering both eyes, indicating partial or full blindness. Under such situation, Shujaa would be extremely difficult to continue living in the wild. Therefore, she was kept in the orphanage since then.

The lioness lives beside Shujaa, called Manu, who spent her entire life in a domestic setting. Her owner sadly passed away, so she was brought to the orphanage. Here, I felt the concern of human beings for animals. They give these injured or abandoned animals a second chance to live, instead of allowing them to wait for death in the wild. This act is kind and humane, showing compassion and kindness. I respect every worker who works here and is dedicated to caring for these poor animals.