These are some elephants you’ll never forget.
The Vital Impacts non-profit organization is presenting art and storytelling photographs taken at Reteti Elephant Sanctuary at the Namunyak Wildlife Conservancy in Northern Kenya, as well as at many other locations around the world.
Images taken by over 100 other photographers are in support of 13 orphaned elephants that will be released back into the wild.
Vitale has covered the incredible story for seven years at the sanctuary that is currently the home to at least 47 rescued elephants.
The Samburu community founded and opened the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary in 2016 to rescue and care for orphaned or abandoned elephants in Kenya. The elephant keepers’ goal is to rehabilitate each animal and release them into wild herds located near their habitats in Kenya
Marina Cano’s striking image of an elephant, called Dusty Trunk is benefiting the sanctuary. Committed to conserving endangered species in Africa, Marina Cano photographed an elephant in 2020 at the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary. The dust surrounding the elephant resulted from a lack of rain seasons in Kenya for four years in a row. It was the longest drought in 40 years
Rajan was a 66-year-old elephant transported to the Andaman Islands in India to cut down trees in the 1950s. The elephant was forced to learn how to swim in the ocean in order to transport logs to barges. Rajan’s job, known as logging, was banned in 2002. The elephant spent the remainder of his life on an island he helped log and was cared for by a man named Nazroo
Despite 32 elephant reserves in India, Rajan called the island, which was surrounded by tall trees and located near the Andaman Archipelago, home. Photographer Jody McDonald took a picture of him enjoying a walk in his home before he died in 2016
Lodokejek, an orphaned elephant, was comforted by Mary Lengees at the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary in a photograph taken by Ami Vitale. Lengees is one of the first female elephant keepers at the sanctuary. She provides care to all of the elephants in the sanctuary, including Lodokejek, who was rescued at three weeks old after both of his parents likely died during a drought
According to the World Wildlife Fund, at least 20,000 elephants are killed in Africa each year for their tusks, while 50 or more are killed each day. The tusks of one elephant killed in Tsavo by poachers in 2004 are stored at Kenya Wildlife Service’s ivory strongroom. Photographer Nick Brandt took a picture of the Rangers from Big Life Foundation walking with the tusks after they were found in Kenya
The sanctuary is the first community-owned and -run elephant sanctuary in Africa and the first to hire indigenous women to be keepers.
It’s been promoted by the Kenya Wildlife Service and Samburu County Government for recognizing the wish of the community to keep elephants in the area, while taking the lead in rescuing, rehabilitating, and eventually releasing the animals back into herds within their home.
Each elephant keeper at the sanctuary are formerly trained to care for them and come from the community.
They also have a mobile elephant rescue team that works to continue rescuing them, spread awareness and mitigate human and wildlife conflict in the area.
Anyone looking to help the elephants in this sanctuary can do so by adopting an orphaned or abandoned elephant for $50 every 12 months or donate bottles of milk that can be purchased on the sanctuary website.
People can also donate money to the sanctuary, provide legacy gifts, or look into creating a fundraiser.
Manatees in Mexico have been spotted throughout the Quintana Roo and Xcalak villages despite experts saying there may be fewer than 1,000 of these creatures left in the country. Mexican photographer Christian Vizi was lucky enough to get a photo of a manatee in the Mexican waters swimming in 2017
Photographer Steven David Johnson found clusters of salamanders putting eggs below the surface of the water in a vernal pool outside of Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. Salamanders can lay anywhere from six to 500 eggs either on land or water
Shawn Heinrichs took this photo of a whale tail and only focused on ‘the mother and calf humpback whale’ beneath him. According to the National Marine Fisheries Service, female humpback whales are protective of their calves that stay with them for one year before weaning
Known for his stylized portraits of animals, Tim Flach took a photograph of four Gentoo penguins diving underwater. Gentoo penguins are built for efficient swimming and diving. They also prefer to settle in ice-free areas, including coastal plains and cliffs
This photo is part of the To Dance with Shadows series with pictures taken by Aletheia Casey in 2020. The image is meant to explore ‘the silent and fragile places of the post-pandemic landscape.’ Casey’s specialty is photograph manipulation and disfiguration to reflect the way in which the future seems distorted and dark with shadows
Photographer Beth Moon was inspired to create a project that features this picture of a raven after visiting a special location in the California Coastline. She formed a relationship with ravens, a species that she considers to be ‘part pirate, part prophet, makers of magic and mischief’
Karim Iliya captured this sea lion in his photograph in 2019 off the coast of Baja California. Shortly after this was taken, some of the small fish in the picture were eaten by the sea lion. There are several sea lion colonies in Baja California, but people usually find them on rocks or small islands on the West Coast
Vincent J Musi photographed Daisy Mae in her home in West St. Paul, Minnesota back in 2011. Mae is a miniature Vietnamese potbellied big, known for their short legs and low-hanging bellies. Sadly, the small breed of pigs have been declared threatened/endangered by the WWA
Wildlife photographer and cinematographer Shaaz Jung specializes in documenting big cats. This photo is one of the many pictures taken by him while on safari
Photographer Jim Naughten was able to illustrate of a group of orangutans hanging around the branches of a beautiful blue-leaved tree. Orangutans are currently the only surviving species of its subfamily that are usually found in Borneo and Sumatra
The elephant photographs and other pictures being sold on Vital Impacts were taken by several award winning photographers, including Jimmy Chin, Beth Moon, and Bertie Gregory.
The website also featured photos taken by other up-and-coming photographers throughout the world.
Each image featured in these powerful photos has a story that hopefully can create change.
From spreading awareness about elephants, to showing the heartbreaking reality about melting ice, the images are meant to inspire us all want to change the world.
The photos even include people who’ve already made changes, including elephant keeper Mary Lengees and the world’s expert of chimpanzees, Jane Goodall. The photo of Jane will be used to raise money for the Jane Goodall Institute.
The photograph of Goodall was taken in 1990 at the Brazzaville Zoo in the Republic of Congo by Michael Nichols, and it also includes the chimpanzee expert’s autograph.
Reuben Wu photographed a halo above the Siloli altiplano desert in 2019 while testing new camera equipment in Bolivia. This image is from his body of work “Lux Noctis”, an ongoing project that depicts landscapes unbound by time and space, influenced by ideas of planetary exploration, chiaroscuro painting, and science fiction.
The Cerro Torre is a mountain that Reinhold Messner described as a shriek turned to stone. Photographer Jimmy Chin was lucky to get a glimpse of the landscape the mountain has to offer in Argentina and Chile. The top of the mountain is known for its rime ice that is formed by strong winds
Icelandic explorer Gunnar Gunnarsson took a landscape photo of Scoresby Sound located in North East Greenland. Icebergs have long been used by locals over the centuries to distinguish seasons and identify towns in Greenland
This photo of the Orion Bar was taken by the James Webb telescope earlier this year. The photo shows a clear shot of the Bar in the Orion Nebula, which is home to about 700 stars
Jim Richardson took a shot of this view while in an uninhabited island in St. Kilda, Scotland, in 2014. St. Kilda has been a safe haven for gannets and puffins and won dual UNESCO World Heritage Site awards
Fireflies flew in the area near the hometown of photographer Sriram Murali. The insects covered the Anamalai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu India in Murali’s picture taken in April 2022 at a remote area in the reserve. Murali was ‘transported to a time centuries before,’ but was saddened to know that fireflies have become rare
Gya Village located in Ladakh is the home to an ice stupa built by youth of the village in the Indian Union territory. Photographer Ciril Jazbec found the stupa while on a trip. Gya has been a popular winter destination
Sublime is an excellent name for this photograph of the Smorstabbtinden mountain in Norway’s Jotunheimen National Park. Orsolya Haarberg’s photograph also includes two skiers enjoying the snowy view of the mountains
Mitch Dobrowner was busy running a studio before getting a photograph of this incredible view of the Arizona and New Mexico border in 2017. Today, he works to create images that help evoke how he sees the planet
Iceland’s river deltas contain volcanic ash that make them rich with minerals as seen in this overhead picture taken by Brooke Holm
Coral reefs, like the one pictured above by Alexander Mustard, are diverse ecosystems in which thousands of new species are still being discovered. These reefs are on the front line of the climate crisis
British wildlife filmmaker Bertie Gregory got this shot of killer whales preparing to wave wash a Weddell seal while in the Antarctic Peninsula. The bubbles on top of each whale may indicate a visual display of communication before the pod’s coordinated attack
These tree trunks taken by Beth Moon in Morondava, Madagascar, are what locals call Les Baobabs Amoureux. They come from the Adansonia Za botanical species that is known for its unique shapes. The trees are estimated to be more than 600 years old and are said to bring good luck to couples in love
Drawn between dreams and ideas, Adeolu Osibodu applied his liking to this photograph he took of people along the water. Odibodu likes to capture moments that express ‘a sense of multi reality, hallucination and a feeling of lost memory,’ that are featured in all his images
The legendary Jane Goodall, a world expert on chimpanzees, is pictured in this Michael Nichols photograph. This image will be used to raise money for the Jane Goodall Institute
Vitale’s work in the elephant sanctuary is spreading worldwide throughout the US now that photos and a short film about the sanctuary are in a new exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
The exhibition, named The Secret World of Elephants, opened on November 13.
The purpose of the exhibition is to reveal ‘new science about both ancient and modern elephants.’
This includes their minds and senses, why they’re essential to the health of their ecosystems, and the efforts being made to overcome threats to their survival.
An additional ticket is required for museum visitors, but valued members can get into the exhibit for free.