Wildlife Conservation South Africa Project #44767

HERD - Baby Albino Elephant Khanyisa's Fundraiser

by Wildlife Conservation Trust

HERD - Baby Albino Elephant Khanyisa's Fundraiser

Project Report | Jun 16, 2020
Growth & Gratitude at HERD

By Sue Howells | Project Leader

We can't believe that nearly 10 months have passed since HERD was built - nor that Khanyisa has only been with us for five months...

Both feel still new and at the same time like a lifetime, as so many milestones have passed and as our hearts and herd have become more and more entrenched in the process unfolding before us as South Africa's first dedicated elephant orphanage.

We'd like to share a few updates about little Khanyisa and her journey thus far, but also to say how grateful we are for the incredible support from people around the world - in spite of this being a difficult time for us all.

We have been incredibly blessed with many kind and helpful individuals, companies and friends. All of which have helped us get to this point and helped us through Khanyisa's five-month rehabilitative journey. Please take a look at our Gratitude Blog here!

A sincere thank you to you all for your support and love,

from Adine & Team HERD!

From Building to Bonding

Khanyisa's Wounds

Khanyisa's wounds from the destructive snare that she was trapped in, that changed the path of her life, are healed!

And beautifully so... thanks to an excellent job by Dr Rogers and the HERD care team for looking after her scars. Once the stitches were removed, we applied stem cell treatment, which has proven successful as the scars have healed to the point that they are hardly visible. Just take a look at the difference in time... behind her ear, on the top of her head and along the side of her mouth and cheek.

When the stitches came out in March

And now that they've healed...

Integration...

Because Khanyisa's wounds healed so well, we moved her onto the gradual integration phase with the Jabulani herd - which you will have seen on our social media and YouTube Channel. The integrations have gone incredibly well, with dedicated and hard work from Adine, the Elephant Managers, Tigere and Owen, and the senior and junior carers at Jabulani and HERD.

Khanyisa and the herd have gone from simple meetings to walks in the bush of about 2 hours to now even longer walks, of about 4 hours. Some days, Khanyisa even leads the herd! These longer walks have meant that we have had to give her her milk bottles while out in the bush with her new adoptive family. It has been fascinating to watch, as some of the other elephants have been very curious about the little calf's private lunch, getting their trunks in for a whiff.

Lundi & Bubi

Lundi and Bubi continue to really shower Khanyisa with affection as mother and allomother respectively and often walk Khanyisa back to the orphanage after each walk in the bush. Lundi remains in the leading role but Bubi is the important backup. The little calf spends a lot of time in particular with these two elephants, but Klaserie, Kumbura and Timisa - the two other orphans, and Tokwe the Matriarch are also very interested in being around her.

WATCH AS LUNDI RUNS TO SEE KHANYISA, CREATING A PROTECTIVE WALL AROUND HER:

Khanyisa seems to be settling into the longer routine in her mornings! Though she has had the odd bad bout of diarrhea, on the whole she is doing well now, eating well and growing speedily again, with lots of energy and excitement to be with the bigger elephants.

TAKE A LOOK AT BUBI & KHANYISA ENJOYING A MOMENT TOGETHER:

We are grateful to observe Khanyisa's successful integration with the Jabulani herd unfold and watch as her trust and individual relationships with the elephants develop and strengthen daily.

THANK YOU! for all of your support and kindness!

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