Animal Welfare South Africa Project #58927

Help an Elephant, Help a Herd

by Hoedspruit Elephant Rehabilitation & Development

Project Report | Mar 8, 2024
Our Growing Herd as a New Orphan Joins Them.

By Sunel Craythorne | Fundraising Administrator

The entire herd of elephants in our care has been through a great change recently. A very exciting change for them all.

They have always shown their unique affinity towards wild orphan calves and did so once again recently as they met the new little bull orphan at HERD and accepted him without hesitation. Several individuals in the herd have really stepped in to help support and protect this new calf, named Phabeni, giving him a glimpse at his future with a herd once again.

Phabeni was rescued in November 2023, after he was found alone on a private property outside the Kruger Park, without his mother or herd anywhere in sight. He was saved and brought to HERD, where we quickly got him onto essential milk bottles throughout the day and night. Dedicated carers watch over him in the orphanage at night, and during the day, he now joins the elephants in the wilderness for walks, foraging time, bonding, swimming, and learning the vital elephant lessons that the herd will teach him.

This new member of the herd is bringing out the best in Setombe, the eldest and dominant female, as she has taken Phabeni in as her own. We never expected such a show of mothering from the usually nervous Setombe, who has never shown such enthusiasm for an orphan calf before. Watching her with Phabeni is incredible, as our supporters on YouTube will note. Read our blog for more information about how each individual in the herd responded to the first introductions: https://herd.org.za/blog/an-incredible-chaotic-introduction-for-phabeni-all-the-elephants-in-the-herd/

Khanyisa is certainly getting used to the newest and now youngest elephant in the herd, and adapting slowly to the realisation that she is no longer the baby and complete apple of the herd’s eye. The dynamics are sure to change as every new calf in a herd shakes things up and causes the elephants to take on new roles and learn and practice new skills. We are excited to keep watching the social structure and development of the herd, with Phabeni a sweet part of their growing family.

Each of these majestic creatures, with their individual stories and distinct personalities, plays a pivotal role in building a love that has spread across the globe. The herd goes beyond conventional boundaries, redefining the concept of “family” by accepting others into their space and challenging their instincts. When trying to explain the depth of such a unique love, the most fitting term that comes to mind is “empathy”, and it is a reminder that striving to achieve such a kind of love should be a goal in our everyday lives.

Phabeni still overnights at the orphanage with Lammie and Spotty the companion sheep, and like Khanyisa, he still relies on milk bottles. Khanyisa will likely be weaned fully soon, but it is a slow process, and for now, she is still very attached to her daily drink stop with the carers.

We are in the process of setting up solar power at HERD, helping to power the homestead, orphanage, and other vital operations without expensive, eco-unfriendly generators, when loadshedding (forced power outages) strikes. You can read more about this endeavour here: https://herd.org.za/solar-campaign/

Keep an elephant eye on our social media platforms for daily updates and news.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/HERDElephantOrphanageSouthAfrica

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HERDElephantsSA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/herd_elephants/

Thank you again for your ongoing support and compassion.

Yours in conservation

Adine and the HERD Team

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Nov 9, 2023
Isn't it Wonderful to be an Elephant!

By Sunel Craythorne | Fundraising Administrator

We are excited to share a report on our elephant herd!

There are mud lovers and water lovers and among the former is certainly Limpopo. Among the water babies are Sebakwe, Fishan, Bubi, Khanyisa, and again Limpopo. Nothing keeps the matriarch’s daughter from the dam’s joys when the sun is out. Even Jabulani and Lundi have been daring to indulge themselves and cool off in the waterhole, splashing everyone around them Sebakwe frequently shows off his fierce splash routine!

Just watch the herd at play here: https://youtu.be/fTdkLu4I0mo

Tokwe has certainly kept us on our toes over the last few weeks, going AWOL in the night on one occasion and kidnapping a wild calf on another. Certainly odd behaviour for the Matriarch!

Read about our night search for Tokwe in our blog - https://herd.org.za/blog/matriarch-tokwe-on-the-run-after-wild-elephants-a-night-search-mission/ and watch it here: https://youtu.be/P1qTjajLan4

Read about the kidnapping event, with Lundi, Pisa and Fishan accompanying Tokwe in our blog - https://herd.org.za/blog/elephant-kidnapping-tokwe-lundi-take-calf-of-wild-albino-elephant/ and watch it here: https://youtu.be/goPuky-OwmE

Tokwe’s daughter, Pisa recently needed medical attention from our wildlife vets, Dr. Peter Rogers and Dr. Ben Muller. She developed an abscess on the skin underneath her, between her back legs. Dr. Rogers arrived to treat her and sedated her with standing sedation, while he took to draining the abscess and administering antibiotics and painkillers. Elephant Manager, Tigere stood by young Pisa's side throughout the procedure to keep an eye on her and keep her calm in case she started to wake up. Adine filmed the process for us, capturing the closeups of pus draining from the abscess: https://youtu.be/lSMhzpV0f-Y

Dr. Rogers then gave Pisa medicine called an antidote, to wake her from the sedation and she quickly took to moving off. The team kept watch over her as she re-joined her friends, Timisa and Kumbura. Two weeks later, we felt that the abscess had not drained sufficiently and was still swollen, and called in Dr. Muller since Dr. Rogers was busy with a rhino procedure. Dr. Muller similarly sedated Pisa and helped to further drain the abscess, making an incision to remove the pus, and inserting cloth swabs to soak up the fluid. He also boosted her with Vitamin E to support wound healing on a cellular level and other mineral and vitamin supplements, as well as more antibiotics. Altogether this did the trick and the abscess has healed well and Pisa has recovered beautifully.

We are so grateful for the help of our wildlife vets and for our supporters, as it is only through your donations that we are able to cover the immense cost of such medical and veterinary treatments for the elephants.

Enjoy more moments with the herd below:

Amazing Elephant Acrobatics as the Herd Play & Spar in the Mud - https://youtu.be/y4SaQ7ZZy-g

Unexpected Encounters as Elephant Bull Zindoga Mounts & Chases after Pisa - https://youtu.be/kDVyfjgbRhU

Special Timisa Time, Watch Zindoga Playing Big Brother to Baby Elephant Khanyisa - https://youtu.be/Qo-kFBvWaNk

Discover what it takes to feed the elephant herd as we share details in this video: https://youtu.be/y81Zve05bjQ and find the answers to several FAQs here - https://youtu.be/wczrDnAzEWs

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for continuing to support the elephants.

Every elephant needs a herd. Every orphan elephant deserves a second chance at life.

Keep an eye on our social media platforms for daily updates and news.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/HERDElephantOrphanageSouthAfrica

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HERDElephantsSA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/herd_elephants/

Warm Regards

Adine and the HERD Team

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Jul 13, 2023
What Have the Rescued Elephants Been Up To?

By Sunel Craythorne | Fundraising Administrator

We are excited to share a report on our campaign, Help an Elephant, Help a Herd.

The Jabulani herd of elephants in our care are a unique blended family with older bulls and cows living alongside young elephants, from almost four-year-old Khanyisa to 37-year-old Sebakwe and Setombe.

Like wild elephants, their days are filled with feeding, roaming, swimming, playing, sparring, splashing and communicating or bonding among themselves. Each individual in the herd has their own personality, while contributing to the holistic wellbeing of the entire herd through the different roles that they play. We spend much of our time studying the behaviours and qualities of our herd of elephants, so that we can better look after them. Sharing their adventures on our YouTube, we’re able to give you insight into their lives and species too.

You can find out more about the mission of HERD Trust in this new video, where Founder Adine Roode shares insight into South Africa’s first dedicated elephant orphanage and homestead: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONhU0KTfCm8

Check in with the herd

Thanks to local farmers donating grapefruit to us, we’ve been able to treat the herd to extra fruit in the homestead in the evenings. This provides additional nutrition and energy for the animals. Watch as the elephants arrive home to their buffet and tuck in without wasting any time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WT4BCoxJYbs

Listen to the sounds of the herd trumpeting in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQvTizBVxAU – as Adine meets up with the elephants in the bush and Khanyisa and runs over to her, causing alarm when the herd realise the calf has run off. Matriarch Tokwe is especially concerned and attentive as she inspects Khanyisa and wraps her trunk around her. Lundi, Jabulani and Bubi are all part of the group huddled around Khanyisa and Adine.

Bubi has continued to protectively follow Khanyisa and can sometimes be a little extra overbearing to ensure that the job of babysitting is done properly. Watch her here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoqHVrOBhs4

Another dedicated allomother to Khanyisa is fellow orphan, Kumbura, whose story is revealed in more detail by carer, Owen and Adine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYozXHRCJko&t=3s

Since Khanyisa spends much time with surrogate mother, Lundi, Mambo – Lundi’s son – is often close by too. Mambo likes to go about his day as he pleases, often alone, but from time to time he seems to enjoy keeping Khanyisa and some of the other young females company: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCeAYjcVwOg&t=14s Other times, he’s seen getting up to mischief, even disappearing from our sight as he goes after wild elephants in the reserve. His mother is a bit of a wanderer too so it’s easy to see where he gets his ways from.

The two youngest elephants, Khanyisa and Timisa spend a lot of time together, often playing, and giving each other support on their days in the wilderness together. Watch some heart-warming moments with them here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIkzq2XI1sM

Timisa can also be seen spending time with her older siblings like Limpopo, while they forage out in the bush: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgZPt6X7ffc

Since it is winter now, the bush is dry and the dam water levels are low. The elephants adapt well to this, though, as they feed on hardier plants like bark, bulbs, roots and branches.

Milk still forms a big part of Khanyisa’s life and she continues to receive daily bottles throughout the morning and afternoon, with her carers helping her to the bottles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vj2Qtim3778

Trees provide great sustenance and enrichment to the elephants and as such the herd can often be seen gathering around them. Watch as the littlest elephants in the herd, Khanyisa, Timisa and Pisa spend time beneath a tree, with Khanyisa happily bothering Timisa with trunk-butts as Timisa climbs over logs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Amih1_1laI0&t=365s

On other adventures in the bush, we often see Tokwe inspecting her surroundings for any signs of trouble. And in this video, she seems to pick up on something: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQ_fMVvrh5g – with Zindoga and daughter, Pisa close by. Timisa comes running and huddles up to the matriarch. Zindoga and Pisa join in and the group stand close together in a protective circle.

The dynamics of our rescued elephant herd are fascinating, and rich in detail. There are so many ways they teach us about their species, and show us the intelligence and beauty of elephants. We hope you enjoy taking a glimpse into their world with us through the videos captured by Adine and our carers.

The cost of caring for, feeding, housing, supporting, and protecting an elephant is mammoth. Your generous donations and adoptions are vital and help us to do the hard and essential work on the ground, while we film the moments around us.

Thank you for all your support for the herd. Without your help we can’t do what we do.

Every elephant needs a herd. Every orphan elephant deserves a second chance at life.

Warm Regards,

Adine and the HERD Team

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