During a recent trip to Kenya Gisele Bundchen was photographed playing with one of the orphaned elephants at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Sanctuary. The Brazilian model traveled to East Africa to raise awareness about the endangered animals.
The sanctuary, which was recently featured on the IMAX movie Born To Be Wild, has been home to hundreds of abandoned elephants.
On her Facebook page Gisele wrote:
”When I went to Africa I discovered that elephants are one of the smartest and most complex mammals on earth. If we don’t protect them, they can be extinguished. The rising price of ivory and the possibility of being exchanged, not just for money but for arms and ammunition has helped the black market to expand, causing the death of more than 30,000 elephants a year. Last year, nearly a ton of this substance was apprehended. I met a baby elephant who was only two months old and had just arrived at the sanctuary. He touched my heart. He was shy, scared, and still traumatized from losing his mother. He was not ready to be playful with the other members of his adopted herd. He was so sweet, looking for a little love and one of my friends hugged his trunk. It was an amazing feeling to meet the baby elephants.”
The supermodel was at the sanctuary as part of her first official visit to Africa after named United Nations Environment Programme Goodwill Ambassador in September of 2009.