On 7th Jan 2020, a four-month female injured albino baby elephant was found alone and caught in a terrible snare. Her injuries from the snare were severe. Wildlife vets have estimated that she spent at least four days stuck in the snare, as maggot infestation had set into some of the open wounds. Khanyisa, (meaning light/sunshine) is now healthy and been steadily integrating with the Jabulani Herd since April 2020. She has been accepted by them unconditionally.
Khanyisa was born with the hardship of being an albino elephant in the wild. Then she found herself trapped in a nasty snare for a few days, with no herd to be found. We do not know if she was abandoned to start. This strong little elephant not only has to survive the ordeal of not having her family but being an albino and now severe wounds that will take time to heal, and most likely leave emotional and physical scars for a lifetime.
The new orphanage serves to provide a solution to the rehabilitation and reintegration of any baby elephants that are orphaned due to manmade problems. It is imperative that an elephant calf is in the company of other elephants for their emotional wellbeing. We a 4-year commitment to providing her specialised milk formula and a lifetime commitment to ensure her safety and care with the Jabulani Herd.
Currently, HERD is equipped to care for three orphans at any one time. Once integrated with the herd, and one the Jabulani herd grow big enough, they will naturally split into a second herd. At this time, we would ensure that we have located new grounds to relocate the herd in a new environment that is both safe and suitable for their needs. We are in a unique position to offer orphaned elephants a new family and future with other orphaned elephants.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
