Warning: this post is full of baby elephant photos. Cute factor is off the charts. Prepare to go “Awww!” repeatedly. Go ahead, practice for a moment. I’ll wait right here.

Today I’m sharing photos of our visit to the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage in Nairobi, Kenya. This organization raises and rehabilitates orphaned elephants so that eventually they can be released back into the wild. Each morning between 11am and noon, the elephants are fed bottles of milk — and for a few dollars visitors can watch and take photos.

My sister Bethany just arrived in Kenya the previous night and we are pumped for this baby elephant experience.

Bethany shows off her safari wardrobe and cuddles with a stuffed pachyderm from the gift shop:

While the numbers fluctuate, there are around 30 young elephants at Sheldrick. Their names and histories are posted for visitors to read.

These elephants have been orphaned for a variety of reasons — poaching is a common occurrence, so the mother might have been killed and the baby left behind. In some cases the baby might fall down a well or get washed away in a flooded river or stuck in mud. Without an adult female to care and nurse the baby, it would die; young elephants have fast metabolisms and need to drink milk at regular intervals 24 hours a day. (To read more fascinating facts about raising orphaned elephants, check out this link.) The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust takes them in and keeps them fed until they are old enough go back to the wild.

The young elephants sleep in these large pens at night. Their caretakers sleep in the loft above them, pictured below:

Right on cue at 11am, the first group of elephants makes their way towards us.

AHHH!! Can you handle the cuteness? The hour has barely begun and my sister and I are giddy with excitement.

The bigger ones go right for the wheel barrels full of milk bottles as caretakers begin to feed them. Elephants use their trunks to hold the bottle in place and even pick up empty cartons off the ground in the hopes of squeezing out a few more drops.

A huge crowd has gathered. This group of school children is captivated by the elephants.

Employees roll away the empty wheelbarrows. These babies go through a tremendous amount of milk at each feeding.

Caretakers escort elephants around the perimeter of the crowd as guests take close-up photos and even pet them as they walk by.

The elephants go wild for dirt — they want to play with it, roll around it in, have it poured over their backs. Employees use a shovel to pile heaps of earth atop the elephants.

They are so playful — the elephants roll around in the dirt like big dogs.

They get a little rambunctious and occasionally head butt or playfully attack each other.

Several of them spontaneously flop down and roll over. The crowd lets out a collective, “Awww!” every time.

Another group of slightly older elephants rushes out for their milk bottles.

We watch this big guy get the idea to pick up the shovel with his trunk. Uh oh…

But he just waves it around a few times before setting it back down. Whew.

Perhaps the cutest moment of the whole hour happens when these elephants lock trunks in a playful, affectionate manner.

My sister and I are head-over-heels in love with these orphans.

This one plops down right on the perimeter of the crowd and offers up his belly for tourists to rub. They happily oblige.

Then he gets cheeky and uses his trunk to tug at the rope!

He ends with this adorable pose, feet together as he prepares to stand:

As the hour draws to a close, the last group of elephants returns to wherever they spend the rest of their day.

As of that weren’t enough cuteness overload, here’s some video footage I shot.

Nairobi is a major hub for tourism — a lot of trips begin and end in this city. If you have a morning to spare, I highly recommend a visit to the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage. It’s common to pair this activity with the nearby Giraffe Centre… more on that tomorrow.