Swaddling Baby Elephants

"Our largest community of knitters and crocheters are in South Africa. After that, it's the U.S.A., U.K., Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Europe."
"We make crochet and knitted blankets for a variety of orphaned baby wildlife animals, including but not limited to rhinos, elephants, chimpanzees, baboons, vervet monkeys."
"Mostly, members use 100 percent acrylic yarn, as it's easy to wash and wears well."
"As for design, we give our members carte blanche and believe me, some blankets are nothing short of a masterpiece."
Jo Caris, coordinator, Blankets for Baby Rhinos, France

"We haven't had weather this cold in 40 years."
"[Campaigns to persuade tourism operators to adopt humane methods to handle the animals means] no more riding, no more performing [in the animal wildlife entertainment industry]."
"[When the blankets were received at the Winga Baw camp] all seven [elephant] babies, they loved it."
"[Many of the rescue adult elephants in care are disabled, blind or ill]."
Sangdeaun Lek Chailert, founder, Save Elephant Foundation, Thailand

Wildlife Trust

In Myanmar, the Winga Baw camp experienced vastly unseasonal cold weather when a cold front made its way from China to portions of Southeast Asia, making people in Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia extremely aware of the need to remain protected from the cold. So in those countries where seasonal cold rarely presents as a problem, the result was that people who don't normally require the use of warm clothing did, donning coats to keep themselves warm.

There are seven baby elephants in the Winga Baw camp and the workers began to collect straw in an effort to keep the elephant infants warm when temperatures fell to 8 degrees C recently. Concerns over the comfort and health prospects of the baby elephants were lifted when the charity Blankets for Baby Rhinos, a wildlife conservation craft group led by a dedicated rhino conservator and a veterinarian, sent along cold-protective blankets for the small elephants.

Wildlife Trust

There are no fewer than 28 camps operated by Ms. Chailert, located in Myanmar, Thailand and Cambodia to offer protection to elephants abused in the tourism and entertainment industries in those countries. She has herself, for the last decade, campaigned in an effort to persuade tourism operators to alter their method of relating to the elephants in their care. All together 77 rescued elephants are receiving loving care in those rescue camps.

"Many are orphans as a result of the illegal wildlife trade, in particular the current trend for elephant skin", explained Ry Emmerson, project director for Save Elephant Foundation. The current situation, however, where infant elephants were being protected by the unusual cold by being swaddled in blankets does represent a first in their rescue experience.

The blankets are tied around the elephants' midsection at the Winga Baw camp, to ensure they keep warm. The blankets are removed before their daily mud bath, then when the swim is finished, the blankets come back on. The blankets have unusual but species-specific dimensions of 120 centimeters by 120 centimeters for baby elephants, and 120 centimeters by 160 centimeters for elephant toddlers of four months or older.

Wildlife Trust