Help an Elephant, Help a Herd

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.

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