@amivitale

Video by @yachakyerbamate. Photos by @amivitale. Calling nature/outdoors photographers! I’m excited to partner with @yachakyerbamate to give one adventurous photographer the opportunity of a lifetime! Head to the link in bio to submit your best photos for a chance to receive $25,000 and spend 2 weeks in the Amazonian Rainforest! #YACHAKPartner YACHAK sources its certified Organic Yerba Mate ingredients from this region and will choose a winner to act as the brand’s on-the-ground photographer to document YACHAK’s reforestation efforts with nonprofit, @ontreeplanted, as part of their pledge to plant over 500K trees by 2024. I’ll help select the final winner, who will also receive a professional 1:1 mentorship session with me before the trip (not to mention a year’s supply of YACHAK)! What are you waiting for? Tap the link in bio and apply now! #YACHAK #AmazonAssignment

Video by @amivitale. Wild elephants roam on Namunyak Wildlife Conservancy in northern Kenya. In the 1990’s, elephant populations here had been poached to near local extinction. Thanks to community-based conservation, elephants and other wildlife have made an extraordinary comeback. Today there are more than 8,700 elephants in the area, making it Kenya's second largest population of elephants! Nature is resilient when we give it a chance and make it a priority. #elephants #conservation #kenya #africa #families #herds

Little giants! Or maybe that’s just the space they take up in our hearts. Hop into the weekend and send a little ❤️❤️ to the elephants at Reteti Elephant Sanctuary (@r.e.s.c.u.e) in northern Kenya. It's their sixth anniversary! #elephants #conservation #kenya #africa #babyanimals

8/24 Photo by @amivitale. Baby orphaned elephants tussle and play at Reteti Elephant Sancutary (@r.e.s.c.u.e). Researchers have found that the close bonds these orphans forge with one another helps to defray the stress of being separated from their mothers and herds. The stress level hormones of young elephants who had been orphaned but lived with peers or other family members, like aunts, cousins or siblings, were comparable to young elephants who still lived with their mothers. #elephants #conservation #kenya #africa #babyanimals

Video by @amivitale. Orphaned baby elephants are comforted 24/7 at the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary (@r.e.s.c.u.e) in northern Kenya. Celebrate with the team on their 6th anniversary. #elephants #conservation #kenya #africa #babyanimals

Photo by @amivitale. Happy Friday everyone! Lekupania stretches his arms up to feed two orphaned giraffes in his care at Reteti Elephant Sanctuary (@r.e.s.c.u.e . While known for its work with elephants, @r.e.s.c.u.e also helps care for orphaned rhino, giraffes, gerenuk and others. #giraffe #conservation #kenya #africa #babyanimals

Video by @amivitale. Bathing time in the mud hole is always a riotous affair with baby elephants splashing here, there and everywhere at Reteti Elephant Sanctuary (@r.e.s.c.u.e) in northern Kenya. Not only is this a joyful expression between the babies but also practical too. The mud helps form a protective layer on their skin against the sun and bugs.  #elephants #conservation #kenya #africa#babyanimals

Photo by @amivitale. No, no, no, little fellow. This fountain is for drinking, not for swimming! Reteti elephant keeper Mary Lengees gently reminds an orphaned baby elephant that the trough is for drinking only at Reteti Elephant Sanctuary (@r.e.s.c.u.e) in northern Kenya. Elephants can drink up to 200 liters of water (50 gallons) per day and smell water up to 12 miles away! Their trunks have the extraordinary ability to gather scent particles that give them not only the smell of water, but which direction and about how far away it is. #elephants #conservation #kenya #africa #babyanimals

Video by @amivitale. Wish the rescues at @r.e.s.c.u.e a happy World Elephant Day and gift them something they love more than anything in this world... milk bottles! 🎁 Visit https://www.reteti.org/gift-a-bottle-of-milk add 🍼 to the wheelbarrow! Did you know? Reteti's 40 elephants drink a total of 9,600 bottles of milk every month! That is 8 bottles a day per elephant for a total of 40 elephants! #elephants #conservation #kenya #africa #babyanimals

Video by @amivitale. Happy World Elephant Day! I hope you're all staying cool out there! Here in Kenya, baby orphaned elephants enjoy a mud bath at Reteti Elephant Sanctuary (@r.e.s.c.u.e) in northern Kenya. Dirt is essential to keep them cool and protect them from the sun. @r.e.s.c.u.e is the first ever community-owned elephant sanctuary in Africa. What’s happening at Reteti is nothing less than the beginnings of a transformation, not only in the way humans relate to wild animals but also how we relate to one another. This oasis where orphans grow up, learning to be wild so that one day they can rejoin their herds, is a story as much about the elephants as it is about all of humanity. You can help by adopting a baby elephant or donating to @r.e.s.c.u.e today! #elephants #conservation #kenya #africa #babyanimals

Video by @amivitale. Today, on World Lion Day, I share a video of a lioness nursing her twin cubs at @olpejeta conservancy in northern Kenya. To me, they are an image of hope in a difficult time for lion populations. Apex predators are critical to healthy ecosystems, but lions are struggling. In the 1950's, it's estimated there were 450,000 lions. Today, there are only 25,000 in the wild and they have lost more than 94 percent of their historic range. The threats are myriad, including habitat loss and fragmentation, human-wildlife conflict and poaching. It makes places like @olpejeta which protect them, and other organizations which work to reduce human-wildlife conflict through predator compensation programs and better warning systems all the more important. Learn more about lions, including how to help by following @olpejeta. #lions #africa #kenya #babyanimals #lioness #worldlionday