“Daphne was a national treasure and a conservation icon. Her legacy is immeasurable and her passing will reverberate far and wide because the difference she has made for conservation in Kenya is unparalleled.”– Angela Sheldrick, Daphne Sheldrick’s Daughter and CEO of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.
In her 83 years with us, Daphne touched countless lives — from generations of elephants who are thriving today through her trailblazing conservation work, to people all over the world who drew inspiration from her. She is testament to the difference that a single person can make, and her legacy lives on as we continue to protect and preserve wildlife in her memory.
Below, we invite you to share your own story of how Daphne touched your life.
Lorna Tomkinson
Posted 14 April 2018
Dear Angela, It was with such sadness that I received the news of Daphne’s death. The legacy of what your parents have done for conservation in Kenya will live on for ever. Daphne had a heart so big and was able to give so much love to the elephants and to engender in the humans who worked with the elephants that same passion and love. While I never met your parents, we certainly knew of them as we grew up in Nanyuki in the late 40s, 50s and 60s. May I wish you and all who work with you strength at this very sad time and feel sure that her presence will be felt as you continue the work she started so long ago. Huenda Mungu wako kwenda na wewe
Lloyd
Posted 14 April 2018
Hi Angela, My deepest sympathies to you and all connected to the trust. Your mother was a amazing lady who i admired greatly as I’m sure did many others what she and david achived for one of the most beautiful creatures this world has just blows me away . I’m sure what your mother and father accomplished will be remebered by all who love animals . All my thoughs are with you and all the team at this time.
Lillian Engelbrecht and family
Posted 14 April 2018
Our heartfelt condolences to the Sheldrick family. Dame Daphne Sheldrick leaves behind a phenomenal legacy and an example of how one person can make the world a better place. Her passion and determination has been inspirational. We are grateful for the work she did, but even more so for inspiring so many people around the world to make a difference. With sincere sympathy
Jean McDermott
Posted 14 April 2018
Thank you so much for sharing the beautiful words about your wonderful Mother Daphne Sheldrick. She was and is a great lady and a caring, compassionate human being. I know she will be missed and as you say her phenomenal work and her legacy will live on. I am so grateful for the wonderful work she has done in caring for these beautiful babies. This endless work and loving care are close to the hearts of so many. Thanks to everyone for all you do. Thank you too for the updates, I know that takes time and effort as well. Your mother’s memory will live on and the compassion and dedication she demonstrated so selflessly for so long will also live on forever. With heartfelt thanks and condolences,
Amanda Wood
Posted 14 April 2018
Dear Angela, It is with real sadness that I read your email about the death of your extraordinary mother Daphne. It doesn’t matter how old you are, the loss of your second parent leaves you feeling orphaned, just like the baby elephants she cared for so wonderfully, and my sincere condolences are with you and your family. I hope you gain some solace from the fact she had a life well lived and did so much good for elephants and conservation. As you say she , and your father, left a wonderful legacy. I was lucky enough to meet her once on a visit to the Nairobi orphanage. She made a lasting impression and was indeed a “one off”. The world is a poorer place without her.
Catherine Brennan
Posted 14 April 2018
Dear Angela, It is with great sadness that I read your email. I have been a follower and supporter of your mother and the Wildlife Trust for some years now and am well aware of the wonderful work being done with the elephants and other animals you house there at the sanctuary. I would like to pass on my deepest condolences for the passing of your mother, she will be a great loss to yourselves and to many others who have so admired her work with the orphans. Again, I am very sad for you. It is a sad time to lose your mother and now both your parents have passed away. You will be a little like those gorgeous elephants in your care, an orphan. My thoughts are with you and your family at this sad time. The legacy of both your parents I’ll live for a long time and many little elephants have gone on to live king lives because of what they started. You must be so proud of your heritage.
Grit und Michael Ratsch
Posted 14 April 2018
Dear Angela, wir sind sehr traurig, von Ihrem Verlust zu hören und senden Ihnen alle Kraft und Zuversicht, das Werk Ihrer Eltern fortzusetzen uns diese schwere Zeit gemeinsam mit der Familie und allen Freunden zu schaffen. In tiefem Gedenken unsere herzlichsten Grüße und Wünsche
Moody Awori
Posted 14 April 2018
Angela, Your mother was truly an icon. A Kenya Treasure. Her legacy will live for ever. May Her Soul Rest in Eternal Peace.
Pat & Don
Posted 14 April 2018
Oh dear we were so sad to hear of Daphne’s passing. However, her life’s work has not been in vain as you, thankfully, are continuing her work with the orphaned Ellie’s! Having visited the Nairobi and Tsavo nurseries we were so impressed with the set up and we wish you the very best of luck for the future. These gorgeous Elephants need you!
Anna Obura
Posted 14 April 2018
Dear Angela, I think I have got your name correct…. We are all so very sad at the passing of your precious mother, Daphne Sheldrick. I have never met any of the family but appreciated from afar, and at the end of emails, and visits with my grandchildren Nowa and Akhil to the Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage, to our orphan Tagwa, the work and the dedication of your mother. I watched a number of videos and interviews that she featured in. Yes, we shall sorely miss her. But her greatness will be measured by how well we all sustain her work in the next years. You have been doing a wonderful job already and we feel sure that the next generation will venerate her with this continuing work. The series of films are marvellous, the couple I’ve seen, and explain the thinking behind what you are all doing and how you do it.* My grandchildren are learning a lot about the conservation of wildlife through the Sheldrick Foundation, the rationale and the multiple factors involved. You must be the artist of the most beautiful elephant watercolours that regularly pop up on our screens. They are simply lovely. Nowa and Akhil love them! I am so sorry for you at this time of terrible grief and renewed amazing pride in your mother, in your parents…. I’m glad to see more and more Kenyan families visit the orphanage. It’s tug at the start, sponsoring a little elephant orphan, when we all have such tremendous extended family needs, including nutritional needs of distant little cousins. But I finally overcame that tension and saw that it is not money taken away from human child needs but an investment in Kenya’s future, Africa’s future. What I very much appreciated about your mother was her practical attitude to the work she was doing. She was not arrogant as many Kenya mzungus can be or patronising or vain in any way. (I am a mzungu, with an African name… ) She got on with her job and explained it honestly. The carers and keepers are evidently happy and dedicated people, knowledgeable and practical, too. It’s a joy to interact with them. So well done the Sheldricks! this is of course an understatement. You have all done wonders…..Many thoughts go from us all to you at this time
Jan Bradstreet
Posted 14 April 2018
I find myself wondering how the elephants are reacting to Daphne’s death, as they most surely will…… Thank you for the work you and your family do, along with those incredible keepers and vets, pilots and the whole team. With my deep condolences to you for the loss of your beloved mother.
Anon
Posted 14 April 2018
Dear Angela Sheldrick, Along with, I imagine, so many others, I would like to pay tribute to your mother and to say how immeasurably sad I was to hear the news of her passing. I have supported the DSWT for over 30 years and also had the privilege of visiting the Voi unit twice whilst on holiday in Kenya back in 93 and 94. The first orphan I sponsored was Malaika, whom we were able to see back then. When she and her calf tragically died, I felt so devastated and I wrote to your mother and had the most wonderfully gracious reply, full of information and wise words. I am sure the tributes to her will be full of superlatives for her many amazing qualities, all so much deserved. One of the things I appreciated about her (although I never met her) was the fact that she was unafraid to talk about the fact that elephants are very human or at least that we share many emotions with them; it is very unfashionable in the scientific community to ‘anthropomorphise’ the elephants or other creatures, but living with them as she did and as you do, it’s wonderful to hear them referred to in such terms, because people like me can recognise their intelligence, the way they mourn, the way they care for their families and so on, just like us. These days I am only able to give a very tiny amount on a monthly basis but will be adding something extra at this time and assume the link you refer to in the newsletter is the best way to do this.
Valentine Snell
Posted 14 April 2018
Dear Angela, I was so saddened to hear the news of the passing of your wonderful inspirational mother, Daphne. She was as you say, a national treasure and leaves behind an amazing legacy, which I know will be supported and carried on in her memory by you and the team. You all do such amazing things for the Trust, and Orphans, and I am in awe of your talents and contributions to African wildlife. Every day you do such fantastic work, and I admire your love, passion and sprit and dedication to your work. Daphne was and will always be a true inspiration, and may her memory serve as a shining light to us all as we go forth in her name, to protect and conserve wildlife for years to come. I am thinking of you all and send my deepest sympathies, but I truly believe that she and your dear father will be smiling down upon you from the heavens – and giving you the support you need. All best wishes and in sympathy
Nzioki wa Makau
Posted 14 April 2018
Our sincere condolences to you all for the loss of an icon, a true legend. Dame Daphne Sheldrick was instrumental in my passion for wildlife as she interacted with us as students while I was at Starehe. At the time I was a member of the wildlife club and we edited the book published in 1982 or thereabouts. I went to Tsavo and met the elephants Eleanor and the feisty Bukanezi. I’ll never forget the connection that I made with Tsavo. I’ve been back many times and have adopted an orphan Lugard. All this wouldn’t be possible were it not for Mama’s work. We pray that you get grace and the strength to bear this great loss. We will surely miss her and her support for wildlife. I commit to do more to help save elephants as she has left an indelible mark in the world.
Marieke Joustra
Posted 14 April 2018
Dear Angela, Dear People of the Nairobi Nursery, It has been (and still is) so sad to read your incredible mother, Dame Daphne Sheldrick, has passed away. I would like to wish you Angela and all people within the David Sheldrick Foundation all the strength to cope with this great loss. I hope your beautiful memories of her, her love, her passion, her great amazing work, and the fact her beautiful work will remain to be carried out will one day soften this loss. It is probably very unusual to do, but I hereby give you all a BIG virtual hug, and wish you all a lot of strength.
Maika
Posted 14 April 2018
Angela, I was and still deeply saddened by the passing of your mother Dame Daphne Sheldrick. I was so looking forward to meeting her in person when I visit in July. All I can say is am truly blessed to have learnt of her amazing work for the beautiful elephants and wildlife she saved during the years. I am inspired to do even more for the Wildlife community in honour of her amazing legacy. All of us conservationists are deeply saddened by this loss. Thank you for carrying on her work and you have our love and support during this trying time. My thoughts and prayers are with you and the family. I do hope to meet you when I visit in July. May the Lord grant you divine comfort, healing and strength during this trying time. A Mother’s love is the greatest gift we’ll ever know. I lost my Mother in April 2013 on the 14th so I know how it feels. Keep making her proud and be blessed always.
Margaret Allen & Jules Cranfield.
Posted 14 April 2018
Our thoughts and best wishes are with especially you and your family and all involved with the DSWT following the passing of your incredible mother. This is such a heavy loss to wildlife in Kenya. Long may you keep up the wonderful work of the Trust.
Bruce Ferreira
Posted 14 April 2018
Our deepest condolences to the family, friends and associated orphans. A VERY sad day in Africa indeed!! I have visited the orphanage in Nairobi and also adopted TAGWA. Have read lots and lots of what Dame Sheldrick stood for, both in her personal and public status. What a marvelous woman. Africa is proud to have accommodated this wondeful woman who showed the World just how important and beneficial wildlife conservation can be. My personal regret….that I never had the honour to meet this remarkable woman.
Richard Chiger
Posted 14 April 2018
Dear Angela, I was privileged to meet your wonderful mother when she came to the American Museum of Natural History, in New York, several years ago and we talked all about elephants and what is happening to them. I shared my lifelong adoration of elephants with her and walked away feeling like I had met the greatest person in the world. May the goodness and kindness and magnificence of her life and the magnitude of what she did for the greatest life form on the earth, the elephant, bring you some condolence. She was just incredible. She set an example for every human to follow. With my heartfelt sympathy to you.
Sandra Anderson
Posted 14 April 2018
Dear Angela. I was extremely sorry to hear of your Mother’s passing. Your Father and Mother were pioneers in the conservation and adoption of elephants (initially through Care for the Wild) and I really enjoy reading your monthly newsletters and updates on the rescue of the orphan elephants and their progress on integrating back into the wild etc. I am currently supporting Chemi Chemi (Ajok being my first) and look forward to continuing to sponsor other orphans for many years to come. I think the work that your organisation does is magnificent. Again accept my condolensces.