By Alicia van den Abeele | Project Leader
Thank you for donating to our Protecting Elephants project. Your support is helping David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation (DSWF) fund our ground-based conservation partners, Game Rangers International Elephant Orphanage Project (GRI-EOP) in Zambia and other elephant programmes across our portfolio.
The year 2020 has been fraught with challenges, in light of the global pandemic, which has forced us all to adapt, one way or another. Despite the difficulties we are now faced with, we are proud to say that our relationship is as strong as ever with our ground-based conservation partners and that our combined efforts are continuing to make a difference to some of the most world’s most vulnerable wildlife populations and communities living alongside them. We are incredibly grateful to the brave wildlife rangers, who even amid the current crisis, are risking their lives on the frontline of wildlife crime and working tirelessly to maintain their vital conservation efforts.
Your generosity, your impact:
As many of our supporters and friends will know, Chamilandu, the matriarch of the elephant orphan herd at GRI, gave birth to her first ever calf in last September. This miracle baby, GRI’s first wild-born calf was named Mutaanzi David, in tribute to David Shepherd. Today, DSWF is glad to share with you that Chamilandu and her calf are strong and healthy.
We are delighted to see Chamilandu not only become a wonderful mother to Mutaanzi David, but also continuing to be a confident matriarch to the rest of the herd. It is clear that the younger orphans in the boma keep respecting her authority, defer to her dutifully, all whilst still looking at her for guidance.
With Mutaanzi David being almost 7 months old, Chamilandu has become much more comfortable letting him run around with the other elephants, giving her a bit more freedom to roam around as she wishes. Although she is often tempted to stay outside of the protective boma in the evenings, the Keepers of EOP encourage her to come inside for safety for the time being.
Despite being new mother, Chamilandu is in excellent physical condition and is still producing milk for Mutaanzi David. The GRI-EOP staff offer Chamilandu extra pellets for nutrition, and provide her with plenty of freshly cut browse throughout the night to ensure she is well nourished and comfortable.
We are delighted to be able to share with you Chamilandu’s story and her journey in becoming a caring mother. Chamilandu and Mutaanzi’s success is a real testimony to your commitment to wildlife and highlights the urgency to continue our vital conservation efforts.
From everyone here at David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, thank you for your kind on-going support to elephants. Your donations are helping protect and rehabilitate orphan elephants like Chamilandu and Mutaanzi David, giving them a second chance at life in the wild.
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