The HERD Elephant Orphanage went on a walk with their adoptive herd through a Big five reserve, and they filmed the walk so you could join the experience.
Hoedspruit, South Africa (23 February 2022) – The HERD (Hoedspruit Elephant Rehabilitation and Development) Elephant Orphanage is the first of its kind in South Africa. It is vital to have wildlife orphanages as poaching is rife in South Africa, and often calves are left to fend for themselves after their mothers have been poached.
The orphanage was established near an adoptive herd. The Jabulani herd at the Kapama Private Game Reserve is mainly made up of orphaned elephants. The herd has been welcoming to any orphaned elephants that have needed a family structure. Elephants rely heavily on their family structure, so having an adoptive herd is excellent!
Over the years, we have seen so many orphaned elephants arrive at the orphanage. The stories have always moved us.
HERD recently shared a 30-minute video showcasing a day with the elephants. The video is very much like a vlog, which is a popular YouTube format for influencers to share a day in their life. The HERD team explained what takes place in the video for those who cannot watch the 30-minute video right away.
“The herd and carers discover lions in the area, while out walking through the Big 5 reserve and stop and re-route to take another path around the big cats. While elephants can certainly handle themselves among lions, these predators pose a big threat to smaller elephants, such as Khanyisa, and a hungry lion will easily take a chance. Some of the herd move ahead to suss out the terrain while the rest look very keen to avoid the trouble – including Somopane, Jabulani and Fishan, with Khanyisa in tow.”
They shared that the herd worked to protect their carers as well.
“The elephants also work together to keep their human carers safe and have often chased away lions or helped to alert our carers to the presence of lions in the vicinity. Mambo is less protective, but the others always take their guardian duties seriously and consider the carers part of their herd when out in the bush.”
If you would like to spend a day with the herd, just sit back and enjoy the video below. You can even see the beautiful Khanyisa, the albino elephant saved from a very painful snare. She has been successfully adopted by the herd.
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