Release update Dec 05

Phoenix's release has been a long time coming but it would now appear that the ball is finally rolling and it is hoped that she will be on her way back to the wilds in the coming months. Her four plus years at Munda Wanga can only be described as amazing for all those that have worked with her or seen her at the sanctuary but it is now time for her to return home. Ngoma Research Station, southern Kafue National Park is the spot from which she will be integrated back into elephant society, where two large herds of elephants await her arrival.

Ngoma is a beautiful and idyllic spot within the Southern Sector of the Park and offers tourists an amazing variety of game. It is probably one of the most diverse areas, with regards mammal species in Zambia, if not Africa. The Itezi Tezi Lake not only offers our released elephant a year round water supply, it also offers tourists an added attraction to this area, both in terms of scenery and the amazing bird life that can be found there. However, like many areas in Zambia, Ngoma has little infrastructure and is therefore under utilised by the tourist industry. This however is about to change with the influx of money from the World Bank and the introduction of infrastructure in and around the Park, which will then open up Kafue National Park to tourists, providing a crucially important tourist loop between Livingstone and Lusaka. The release station, which will be there for years to come, will now offer tourists an added attraction to the area, as has been the case in Kenya with Daphne Sheldrick's elephant facility.

Through Phoenix's fight for survival, Zambia will now soon be in a position to provide Zambia's orphan elephants with a chance of a life back in the wild, as is the case for those unfortunate individuals in Kenya. Phoenix has given Munda Wanga the expertise and infrastructure to cope with orphaned elephants. It is the aim to set up a Rapid Action Response Unit to respond to wildlife emergencies throughout Zambia. In the next few months, again through Phoenix, Zambia will have a facility to release rehabilitated elephants back to the wild

The anti-poaching war against the illegal trade in bushmeat and ivory continues. Until the day comes that the war is finally won through education and enforcement measures, elephant mothers will continue to be shot, leaving two week old elephants like Phoenix alone and in danger of starvation or attack by predators. The facility at Munda Wanga and the release station in Kafue is therefore a crucial component to conservation efforts here in Zambia, offering her orphaned elephants a chance of a life back in the wild. Phoenix will be sadly missed by all those who have visited the Sanctuary and those that have had the chance to work and play with her but her amazing story is set to take on a new chapter. As we say goodbye, her world will now open up………

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