Another beautiful little elephant has joined the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust family! Meet Chili, the newest daughter of ex-orphan Chyulu, who returned to introduce her baby girl to the Keepers who helped raise her. Chyulu was rescued 20 years ago when she was just a baby herself. She grew up surrounded by love and care at Sheldrick Wildlife Trust before eventually returning to the wild. Today, she's a proud mother of three! And here's what makes these moments so special. These elephants are living freely in the wild, raising families of their own, yet they still return to introduce their babies to the people who once cared for them. What a beautiful testament to the lifelong bonds between these elephants and their human families. Welcome to the world, little Chili! ❤️🐘 Congratulations to Chyulu and all the proud grandparents at Sheldrick Wildlife Trust

On October 19th, researchers at the Center for Whale Research have spotted a very young calf swimming alongside J35, also known as Tahlequah, one of the endangered Southern Resident killer whales in the Pacific Northwest. This beautiful little boy has been designated J65. This birth has my heart excited and scared at the same time. J35 is the whale who carried her dead calf for 17 days in 2018 and again experienced the heartbreaking loss of another calf in 2024. It was devastating to watch this beautiful mother mourn her babies. Unfortunately, orca calves have a very high mortality rate, with only about half surviving their first year. And because the Southern Residents are already struggling with a shortage of Chinook salmon, their primary food source, these precious babies face additional challenges from the moment they're born. The wonderful news is that researchers have observed J65 swimming well, socializing, and nursing from his mother, with no visible signs of health problems. I know babies are such wonderful news, but this little one needs all the prayers and positive thoughts we can send his way. His first year of life is incredibly fragile, and every surviving calf is so important to the future of this endangered population. So please join me in welcoming J65 to our ocean family and congratulating J35 on the arrival of her beautiful baby boy. ❤️ Our hearts will be with this mother and her little one every step of the way. If you'd like to send a little extra love to the whales, you can support the Center for Whale Research and their important work with a donation here. 🐋❤️

My mom would have turned 87 today. I lost her in 2018. She was too young and I wasn't ready to let her go. Today I want to share her love of frogs. Her grandcat took after her and always had a pet frog with her when she went outside in her cat-safe backyard. ❤️ There are more than 8,000 species of frogs in the world, living on every continent except Antarctica. You'll find them in rainforests, deserts, grasslands, wetlands, and even high in the mountains. Depending on the species, frogs can live anywhere from a few years to more than 20 years. These little amphibians do some pretty important work for our planet. They help control insect populations, provide food for birds, snakes, fish, and other wildlife, and their tadpoles help keep aquatic ecosystems healthy. Because their sensitive skin absorbs substances from their surroundings, frogs can also help scientists detect environmental problems. One frog I think Mom would have loved is the poison arrow frog, a tiny rainforest resident with an extraordinary parenting routine. In some species, Dad takes on the responsibility of transporting the tadpoles. After the eggs hatch, he carries the little youngsters on his back, climbing high into the trees to find tiny pools of water collected in plants. Each tadpole gets a little nursery where they can continue growing and developing into frogs. He also monitors the tadpoles, and when they tell him they are hungry, he calls for a female. Mom then comes over, doing what all good poison arrow moms do, inspects the situation, and lays an unfertalized egg for dinner. What a beautiful family dynamic. Imagine being a tiny frog growing up in your own little swimming pool high in the rainforest canopy with room service! 🐸💚 Watch this incredible BBC Earth video showing a poison arrow frog caring for his youngsters. And in a wonderful coincidence, today I'm helping move endangered toad tadpoles as part of a reintroduction effort. I can't think of a more fitting way to celebrate Mom's birthday than helping the little creatures she loved so much.

It is time to come together again and choose the organization that will receive Empowering Animals’ October donation. I’m so happy to share that we have $35 to donate this month! That is almost doubled since we began in June. How wonderful is that? We are growing for the animals! ❤️ This month, we have three hopeful opportunities to protect endangered Palm Cockatoos, help save pangolins from extinction, and care for rescued elephants in Thailand. ❤️ People For Wildlife: Palm Cockatoo Project People For Wildlife is working to protect endangered Palm Cockatoos in Australia. Because these remarkable birds raise only one chick about every two years and old nesting trees are disappearing, the project creates and protects nesting hollows to give future generations a better chance to thrive. ❤️ Pangolin Crisis Fund The Pangolin Crisis Fund helps protect all eight pangolin species from poaching and illegal trafficking. Donations support projects around the world that rescue and rehabilitate pangolins, protect their habitats, combat wildlife trafficking, and work with local communities. ❤️ Pangea Elephant Sanctuary: Bring Kariba Home Kariba, who is currently healing and waiting for approval to travel. Pangea needs to raise approximately $115,000 for Kariba’s move from Belgium to her new sanctuary home in Portugal once she is fully healed, along with her transitional care. We also have a special way to support GRACE gorillas through the beautiful gorilla shirts available at Cause & Chaos Graphic Tees, created with artwork donated by @Kate Bullock especially for Empowering Animals. I received my gorilla shirt on Sunday, and it is gorgeous! I’m so happy to be able to support GRACE

Our October donation vote is open through October 5! I know it is hard to choose just one organization. Remember, you can always send some love to each one, through their donation provided links. They are all doing incredible work for the animals! You can also help us grow the amount Empowering Animals is able to donate each month. Stop by the Classroom to find: 🐾 A link to make a one-time Love Donation 🐾 Products where a portion of each purchase helps animals 🐾 Special products where 100% of the profits go to the animals Every vote, donation, and purchase helps us do more for the animals and the people and organizations that spend their life loving them. We already have $35 to donate this month, and I’m excited to see that amount continue to grow! This opportunity is open to ALL Empowering Animals members. You do not need a Premium Membership to vote. The animals only care that you love them. Go here to vote. ❤️🐾❤️