Erwan Heussaff fosters elephant for Anne Curtis as anniversary gift

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Anne Curtis shared that Erwan Heussaff fostered a rescued orphan elephant as part of his anniversary gift for her.

The Kapamilya host-actress shared in her Instagram page that Heussaff fostered the orphaned elephant in her name. The animal was born on February 18, the day after Curtis’ birth date.

View this post on Instagram

Part of my anniversary gift from @erwan. He fostered a little orphaned elephant in my name. We visited her yesterday. Her name is Enkesha. Born a day after my birthday 🐘 She had to be taken in because of a horrible wire snare that was wrapped around her little trunk. It now has a little hole in it because when she was much smaller she somehow was able to take the stitches out. Kulit. She’s sooo cute when she sleeps though. She puts her little trunk up on that blanket behind her and just lets it rest there. If ever you visit Kenya, a visit to @dswt is a must. There are so many little elephant calf’s that have been rescued and you get to learn about all their stories – where they were found and why they had to be saved 🐘 #ERWANNEderlust #ERWANNEderlustAFRICA

A post shared by Anne Curtis (@annecurtissmith) on Nov 9, 2018 at 9:28pm PST

Social media users lauded her and Heussaff’s initiative to adopt an orphaned elephant in support of an advocacy.

The actress-host is no stranger to initiatives as she is also a celebrity advocate for children under the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund.

Refuge of orphan elephants

Curtis tagged the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in her Instagram post, which describes itself as an “orphan-elephant rescue and rehabilitation program” based in Kenya, Africa.

They are also one of the pioneer conservation organizations of wildlife and habitat protection in East Africa.

It was created in 1977 and it prides itself in protecting wildlife from all forms of poaching.

View this post on Instagram

Sana Sana is usually a very laid back elephant, but some days she only has milk on the mind! She is part of the second feeding group, but she was recently in such a hurry to have her bottle that she came barreling down early while the first group was having their meal. Once she arrived, she made a beeline for the wheelbarrow and helped herself (this is where her ability to hold her own bottle comes in handy!), before scampering around impatiently until her friends were also done with their meals. Her naughty antics took everyone by surprise except Sattao, who made the most of the situation by standing beneath her and slurping up all her spilt milk! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ To learn more about lovely Sana Sana, click the link in our bio or visit: www.thedswt.org/sana-sana ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ _________ Photo © David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust #DSWT #SanaSanaDSWT #rescue #milk #elephant #secondchances #kenya

A post shared by David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (@dswt) on Nov 5, 2018 at 8:01am PST

The organization also safeguards the natural environment, enhances community awareness among people, addresses issues on animal welfare, provides veterinary assistance to animals in need and rescues elephant and rhinoceros orphans, among others.

Their main conservation effort is the “Orphan’s Project” which aims to protect and hand rear elephants and rhinoceros from being poached for their ivory and horn.

According to their website, they have successfully hand-raised over 150 elephants and have reintegrated them into the wild herds of Tsavo, Kenya in the long run.

Vulnerable species 

African elephants are tagged as “vulnerable” under the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species.

It is close to being considered as endangered.

Two years ago, it was reported that African elephants have “seen its worst decline in 25 years.” The population decline was mostly due to intensified ivory poaching. Ivory is used to make jewelry, combs, piano keys and religious ornaments.

Ivory poaching was banned by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora in 1989. Despite the ban, countries such as China continue to participate in the illegal ivory trade.

The African elephants’ decline was also attributed to their habitat loss caused by the increase of human population and land conversion.