Queen Camilla on Wednesday bottle-fed a baby elephant when she visited Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Elephant Orphanage in Kenya for elephants who had lost their parents to poachers.
On the second day of the royal state visit to Kenya, Camilla and King Charles heard about the work of rescuing and rehabilitating orphaned elephants.
As well as poaching, elephants face the threat of deforestation and drought.
An elephant calf wrapped its trunk around the bottle as the Queen joined keepers feeding the orphans.
The King talked to staff at the park while a young rhino was nibbling one of the keeper’s trousers.
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Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Elephant Orphanage has raised 316 orphaned elephants, is part of an effort to protect a species under intense pressure from human encroachment.
The park also holds the site where large quantities of poached ivory, intercepted by the authorities, had been burned, to show the country’s commitment to stopping the illegal wildlife trade.
The trip to Kenya has emphasised the King’s support for environmental causes and sustainability.
Further, he visited a United Nations office in Nairobi to hear about their ecological efforts and he later planted a tree with 10-year-old Karen Kimani, a schoolgirl who had written to him about needing to protect the environment.
The King’s state visit to Kenya, the first to a Commonwealth country since the start of his reign, included a significant speech about the legacy of colonialism.
