Daphne Sheldrick was born Daphne Jenkins on June 4, 1934 in Kenya, which was still a British colony. She became a wildlife conservationist and was an important voice in the movement to save the declining elephant population and raise awareness about poaching. She lived at the Tsavo East National Park in Kenya with her husband. After his death, she founded the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.
She wrote several books including The Orphans of Tsavo, An Elephant Called Eleanor, and Love, Life, and Elephants: An African Love Story. The work done by the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust was the focus of the British series Elephant Diaries and the documentary Born to Be Wild. In 2006, she was given the title of dame commander by Queen Elizabeth II. Sheldrick died from breast cancer on April 12, 2018 at the age of 83.
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