Elephant girl Khanyisa has finally graduated from milk bottles, taking her last sip, which is also synonymous with a step forward into a new era of elephanthood.
Hoedspruit, South Africa (03 March 2025) — It seems like just the other day that elephant girl Khanyisa hopped onto our radar as a tiny, albino Ellie who, despite having the spirit of a warrior, was just a baby in need of a lot of care and even more milk bottles.
But time has flown and Khanyisa has grown in all ways wonderful since her rescue in 2020. Now at five-years-old, Khanyisa has officially closed one chapter to usher in another; a moment signalled with her enjoying the last of her milk bottles.
The Hoedspruit Elephant Rehabilitation and Development (HERD) team, who have cared for Khanyisa all this time at the Elephant Orphanage, recently shared the news of Khanyisa’s final swig.
“After more than four years of dedicated bottle feeds, carefully balanced formulas and around-the-clock care, she has taken her final sip, marking a major milestone in her life as a growing elephant,” HERD said.
In the world of baby elephant rescues, milk bottles are crucial to survival. Without mothers to feed them, man-made milk intake becomes one of the most important elements of the elephant’s development.
When all goes well, elephants grow heavy and strong and their milk intake is adjusted accordingly as time goes on.
“[Khanyisa] is fully weaned, relying on the bush and supplementary food alongside her herd. This moment is bittersweet. One chapter closes, but another begins as she continues to flourish under the watchful eyes of her adoptive elephant family,” the team share.
It was an emotional moment for many, but no one more than Adine Roode—AKA the ‘Elephant Mom’.
In a clip that will speak to anyone who has ever raised a child or an animal that felt like a child, Adine got real about the empty-nest syndrome she felt in weaning Khanyisa off the bottles.
Adine’s touching vulnerability echoed sentiments many of us have felt before when reflecting on the end of an era: The battle to adjust to the new, the clawing to keep the familiar.
In this way, the last of the milk bottles meant that time had actually passed and that the future could not wait any longer.
Adine reconciles it all beautifully, sharing:
“The bond we share will never fade—it is something we will always have. But she no longer needs me. She has her family now. Her elephants. Just as nature intended.”
Khanyisa is now happily settled within the Jabulani Herd—other elephants who have each walked their own paths to become part of the family. Still a youngster amid the elders, we, like the HERD team, can’t wait to see how her journey continues to unfold.
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