Raise Khanyisa Orphaned Elephant Snaring Survivor

Dear HERD Family and Friends,

A warm ‘elephant-trumpet’ greeting from our HERD family to yours.

We are delighted to give a report on albino baby elephant orphan, Khanyisa.

• Khanyisa has been steadily gaining weight and now weighs in at over 600 kilograms - that’s almost 1323 pounds. She has gained 66kg since April 2022 with a 476kg gain since she was rescued back in January 2020. It’s hard to imagine that this healthy calf once weighed only 124kg.

• She is turning three years of age in September 2022. We are thrilled to celebrate this with you. Keep an eye out on our social media channels for special moments that we will share with our followers during September.

• Khanyisa is receiving three milk bottles six times a day rather than two milk bottles seven times a day. She will keep receiving milk, though, until around five or so years of age (between four and six depending on her health and progress). These milk bottles are essential for her growth and development, and we appreciate each and every single drop that is donated by our loyal HERD supporters.

• There may be no tooth fairies for little elephants, but carer Last certainly came close after discovering one of Khanyisa’s first teeth which fell out in May 2022.

• Khanyisa has many dedicated allomothers who take care of her across the day in the bush, but one elephant, Klaserie, has been slowly stepping in more and more – mostly in the afternoons. The more female elephants can practice their motherly skills in the presence of a younger orphan like Khanyisa in the herd, the better for the herd as this enables them to grow and develop new skills and experiences.

• Khanyisa is certainly a bundle of energy! She likes to run between different elephants in the herd and even off in her own direction at times. Day-by-day she is learning the necessary skills to survive in her environment.

• Though she loves to swim and splash around in the waterholes, the young calf is not very fond of puddles. The herd may be ready to go out into the wilderness for the day, but Khanyisa does not like to get her feet wet and takes her time joining the herd on their escapades for the day after there’s been some rainfall.

Kindly see new photos of Khanyisa below.

We are grateful for all your support. Khanyisa would not have reached these milestones without your generosity. We’re exceptionally proud of her progress and look forward to continuing to have you on this journey with us so we can keep sharing her beautiful success stories, step by elephant step, with you.

Warm Regards

HERD Team