Protecting Elephants

Elephant Reintroduction Success Story

Chamilandu, lovingly known as Chamma, was rescued with the support of David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation (DSWF) in Zambia in 2007, after her mother was killed by poachers. Once the matriarch of the Elephant Orphanage near Lusaka, she has now been enjoying life back in the wild since Easter 2022 in the Kafue National Park, along with her now three-year-old calf, Mutaanzi-David, named in honour of our late founder, David Shepherd CBE.

Chamma and Mutaanzi were recently spotted successfully integrating into a wild herd. The herd were first spotted by release facility manager Tim, during a beautiful sunset in the Kafue National Park. Tim spotted a herd walking through the long grass towards a nearby watering hole, he started counting the elephants and then spotted an adult with a calf in tow, instantly recognising this as Chamma and Mutaanzi. The herd totalled a staggering 28 elephants! A truly miraculous sight highlighting the impact of 15 years of hard work and dedication to Chamma’s rehabilitation.

This extraordinary moment reinforces the importance of protecting not only our planet’s precious wildlife but also the wild spaces they inhabit which is why DSWF’s support does not end with the elephant orphanage and expands into anti-poaching, conservation education and human-wildlife conflict mitigation to further support the conservation of elephants in Zambia.

Watch the moment here

Anti-Poaching

With thanks to DSWF funding, anti-poaching operations continued to be supported across the Kafue National Park in Zambia. The special anti-poaching unit clocked a total of 519 ranger patrol days in the past six months resulting in 25 apprehensions and 4 illegal firearm confiscations. During the period the unit covered a total distance of 4,190km through a combination of boat, vehicle, and foot patrols in and around the national park and elephant release area. Throughout the period, the unit has been provided with operational, financial, and logistical support, enabling the efficient running of operations. Further support has also been provided to the unit in terms of welfare and training. The team have continued to build their informer network around the elephant release area and their operational results during the period were achieved thanks to this vital informer intelligence.

Human-Wildlife Conflict Mitigation

DSWF’s support also enabled the continuation of human elephant conflict mitigation for communities living adjacent to the release area and the wild elephants who also live in the national park who occasionally cross borders and raid crops in search of food and cause accidental damage to community land. Reports show human elephant conflict was considerably less than the previous six-month period. Trained scouts continued to respond to any reports of conflict. Providing support to the local communities in this way is critical for securing the national park as a safe site for elephant re-introduction and for protecting the wild elephant herds within it.

Education

Since the opening of the new Wildlife Discovery Centre in Lusaka National Park , a series of ‘Discovery Days’ launched in September which welcomed students from low-resource schools to the centre for a day of immersive and engaging conservation education. DSWF funding has enabled the purchase of a bus that provides free transportation to the park for the students and teachers, helping ensure the centre is truly accessible to all. So far, 194 children from ten schools have been able to attend the Discovery Days. These kids would previously not have been able to access and experience conservation in the field.

Stay up to date with our work and how your generous support is making a difference, receive exciting wildlife conservation stories and hear about forthcoming campaigns, fundraising initiatives and events: Stay In Touch