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PHOENIX - A very special young elephant
- orphaned by poachers, rescued by DSWF and now joined by her
new baby 'ele' friends
In just a few weeks, news spread of the
new release centre - now called the Zambia Elephant Orphanage.
Despite its basic facilities we have received requests from all
over Zambia for help with newly orphaned elephant calves who have
so tragically lost their mothers through poaching.
These tiny terrified babies desperately
need a safe and secure home to bring them up in an environment
which will secure their future. Having been open for just over
a month there are now already three new tiny baby orphans whose
future might well depend on the orphanage and whose daily care,
until they are ready to return to the wild, will necessitate long-term
funding.
Zamma
Zamma was found abandoned in Lower Zambezi
National Park in August 2007. It is thought that poachers shot
his mother and then he was left behind when the rest of the herd
fled for safety. Rescued by Conservation Lower Zambezi he was
flown in to the orphanage in October. At only 7 months old, he
is the most lively and inquisitive of the group and is always
looking for someone to play games with him.
Chodoba
Chodoba (meaning something that has been
lost and found in the local language Nyanja) is a young male elephant
close to three years old who was found wandering alone near a
camp for nearly six weeks. Local people took an interest in him
and monitored his deterioration for more than three weeks in the
hope that he would be taken in by other elephants. Although many
were around on a regular basis, neither Chodoba nor any of the
other elephants took any interest in each other. October in Luangwa
is a harsh time for animals anyway and Chodoba was becoming increasingly
thin day by day, so once his ribs started poking out the decision
was taken to step in and "rescue" him. Zambia loses
many elephants every year to poaching and some suffer slow and
painful deaths from wire snares - each individual is therefore
precious. With the full support of ZAWA Chodoba was darted and
moved to a temporary new home to try and fatten him up. At first
it was thought that he might have something wrong with him as
he was so lethargic and weak, but it was soon realized this was
totally due to his poor condition and lack of nutrition.
After a few weeks he was deemed strong enough
to be transported by road to the new Zambia Elephant Orphanage
in Kafue National Park where he would definitely benefit from
the company of Phoenix and another young elephant from Lower Zambezi
called Zamma.
Chodoba handled the journey extremely well
and on reaching Kafue, he calmly stepped off the vehicle into
his new home and started feeding. He has not stopped since and
we hope that in the next few months he will put on weight and
become strong again. He is being monitored by keepers supported
by DSWF from the David Shepherd Foundation and human contact is
being kept to a minimum, with the focus being on contact with
Zamma and Phoenix.
Chamilandu
The day before Chodoba was due to be transported
to Kafue, the South Luangwa Conservation Society (SLCS) received
a report of a wounded elephant cow with a young calf at Chamilandu
camp inside the park. After going down to check on the elephant
they found that she was in a terrible state, emaciated, in agony
with a hugely swollen and infected leg and hardly able to move.
The wound appeared to be from a gunshot. In a case like this the
decision is normally straight forward and the elephant should
be euthanized. However, she had a young calf that was not yet
weaned and could not possibly survive alone. If the decision is
made to shoot the mother, the calf becomes the responsibility
of its "rescuers". Arrangements were made to have milk
formula donated and sent up by DSWF to Chamilandu camp. The following
day the mother elephant was put out of her agony. Her ordeal was
over in seconds but only just beginning for the calf.
Chamilandu was then tranquilized and put
in to a separate boma for the night from which she frantically
tried to escape. She was obviously terrified and lost without
her mother. The second night saw improvement and she had calmed
down and was drinking milk without problems. She is now on thirty
litres per day and in good health.
After Chodoba's long trip, it was decided
to try to raise the money to charter a flight for Chamilandu,
shortening the journey to just 2 1/2 hours in the air. However
the cost was very expensive and an appeal was sent round the world.
Within days the money was raised and the flight booked.
Just two days ago, at 04.30 a.m. vehicles
started arriving at Chipembele to begin the move. Chamilandu was
injected with a sedative, but even so she managed to find the
strength to break the flimsy wooden end to her crate and it quickly
had to be adjusted so she could see out, as well as strengthened.
With her vision of the world restored, she settled down and watched
as about a dozen scouts and others struggled to lift her into
the back of the Chipembele truck.
She was then driven to Mfuwe airport where
the plane was waiting for her. Transferring Chamilandu in her
crate was made so much easier by the fact that the truck's floor
and the plane's floor were almost level and the crate was relatively
easily moved into the plane. The seats of both the plane and the
truck had been removed to make the task easier.
Chamilandu (named after the lodge where
her and her mother were found) will join Chodoba, Pheonix and
Zamma in Kafue National Park, at the new Zambia Elephant OrphanageDSWF-funded
elephant orphanage supported by DSWF.
'After
the Rains' - Project update from Zambia - February 2008
 This
year's annual rains brought devastation to large parts of Zambia
including
the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation supported Elephant Orphanage
Project where Phoenix and her little friends Zamma, Chodoba and
Chamilandu are being looked after. Their home was literally swept
away and the rain made communication almost impossible. We had
to find a new home for the elephants and their keepers and our
emergency appeal, launched in February, generated the much-needed
funds to make this possible.
At the end of February David and his daughter,
Melanie, CEO of DSWF, headed out to Zambia (thanks to the tremendous
support of British Airways) to see for themselves how things were
progressing and to raise funds and awareness locally for the project.
Melanie reported back:
The old site
We were driven by our new part-time Operations
Manager, Sport Beattie, a dedicated conservationist originally
from Zimbabwe, and accompanied by Belinda Pumfrett, our wonderful
volunteer from the UK, on the long hot journey from Lusaka to
the spectacular Kafue National Park - one of the largest parks
in Africa and quite stunning!
 After
a gruelling eight hours of tracking through the flood soaked plains
it was shocking to see the old site at first hand. The terrible
rains and resulting flooding had all but washed away the original
camp. What was left of it was slowly being demolished - by the
keepers who were systematically removing key structural parts
for the new site and by Phoenix who seemed to be enjoying supplementing
her diet with a little bit of delicious thatch!
 Not
having seen Phoenix for four years it was quite a surprise to
see her so huge and so strong! She was pleased to see the vehicle,
which she associates with food, and we were able to give her a
few treats before a 'tour' of what remained of the site. It really
put into perspective the terrible time they had experienced as
the water levels had risen.
The new site
The location of the new site has been positioned
on higher ground next to permanent water, an important consideration
during the dry season. Although only half built at the time of
our visit, the three babies had already been walked the three
kilometres to the new site and were enjoying their temporary new
accommodation. Phoenix was kept  behind
until the site was complete. This was partly because of her adolescent
destructive nature so it was important to ensure the new site
was 'Phoenix proof' first! But Phoenix was also recovering from
a bout of illness. With no matriarch to teach her the ways of
the wild, her keepers believe she had inadvertently eaten a poisonous
plant. Thankfully by the time we saw her she was full recovered
and back to her old boisterous self but it had been a scary time
for her keepers!
Baby update
At the new camp site, it's a 100-metre walk
from the keepers living area, through thick bush along the river
bank, to where the babies are now settled and it was absolutely
wonderful to see them! They were a little wary of us - new voices
and smells - but delighted to see Belinda who received a very
warm and affectionate welcome. Chamalandu who, after his terrible
six months alone in the bush and is slowly building up his weight,
his strength and his confidence, was particularly pleased to see
her.
 Sadly,
we had far too little time with the babies, but long enough just
to glimpse the very individual and endearing characteristics they
each have and understand the trauma they must have suffered in
their short lives. Watching them at rest with their trunks inactive,
they looked so sad, it broke my heart to think how anyone could
cause such inhumane acts on these beautiful creatures. But I was
completely uplifted by the fresh hope this new camp will bring
to the orphaned eles and the dedication and commitment of Belinda
and all the keepers.
 Seeing
little Zamma splashing in the water with his tiny hairy trunk
made me realise just how vulnerable these babies are and really
see the value of our work and your generous support. In such a
rich wildlife area, with year round water and miles from human
habitation, they stand a good chance of a successful introduction
to one of the countless wild herds in the area.
 We
were able to leave a small gift of Shetland pony rugs we brought
out from England - which have already proved invaluable in the
incessant rains and are perfect fits!!
Under African skies
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Enjoying a well earned rest with their keeper during one of
their daily walks. |
We drove back to Lusaka under the most amazing
star-studded sky. We will never forget our time with the elephants
and we left Zambia full of hope for the future and once again
totally in love with this glorious country, its warm, friendly
people and of course its wildlife and wild places.
Since returning home we have been
getting daily updates from the camp. Phoenix has now joined the
babies and is bonding well with them. All are doing very well
in the newly completed orphanage and we are all praying that the
rains will ease so that everyone can settle down to their new
lives and daily routines.
If you are interested in helping DSWF
to save Zambia's wildlife and help release Phoenix in to the wild,
please follow the links below to make a donation or you can phone
the Foundation Office on 01483 272323.
Every little contribution helps wildlife
and remember 100% of your donation will go in full to the project - thank you!
You can also help by becoming a member
of DSWF. Click here for more information
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