|
Chamilandu's move to Zambia Elephant
Orphanage
Established and supported by The David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation
Kafue National Park, Zambia
You will have read in Phoenix's story that
little Chamilandu came to us the day before we moved Chodoba to
his new home in Kafue. After a hard first night, she settled in
well at Chipembele Wildlife Education Centre. Our only task before
moving her was to try and get her used to people, so that she
could be flown to Kafue National Park's new Zambia Elephant Orphanage
established and sponsored by the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation.
This was not easy and you would be surprised at how strong a one
a half year old elephant is, lots of us ended up with bruises
and cuts from being head butted on a regular basis!!
After seeking advice from Proflight, the
airline who had recently moved little Zamma from Lower Zambezi
to Kafue, preparations were made for Chamilandu's move.
With no specialized vet available to help
us with the move, James Milanzi (ZAWA Senior Ecologist), myself
and an SLCS scout, Jaston Nyama decided or rather hoped we had
enough experience to move her ourselves. The following photos
tell the rest of the story.
Chamilandu was tranquilized early on Sunday
morning, loaded into her crate, driven one and a half hours to
Mfuwe Airport and loaded in to the Proflight Caravan plane (it
sounds a lot more straight forward than it probably was!!). A
second top up tranquilizer ensured she was extremely relaxed for
the three hour flight to Kafue National Park, which was thankfully
very smooth and completely problem free. Her most familar friend,
Jaston Nyama sat with her at the back of the plane and fed her
along the way.
 |
 |
| Not much room for anything else in the plane. |
Arrival at Kafue and having a good smell. |
Minutes after arriving at the orphanage,
Chamilandu meets Chodoba and Zamma for the first time with a touching
of trunks. Zamma and Chamilandu became firm friends immediately
whereas Chodoba continues to do his own thing.
Two hours after arriving at the orphanage
all three young elephants and their keepers went on a walk and
had a swim in a small lagoon. Little Zamma especially has the
time of his life during these afternoon swims. All the elephants
spend most of the day out walking in the park with their keepers
and generally spend time feeding and just being elephants.
On the early morning walks with six and
a half year old Phoenix, the lovely cow whose plight initiated
the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation to set up the orphanage.
The youngsters go out with a blanket in the morning until it warms
up. At night time, the three youngsters are safely kept in a boma,
away from lions and looked after by their dedicated keepers.
James and Jaston and I say goodbye to our
new friends and leave them in the safe hands of the Zambia Elephant
Orphanage keepers. SLCS is thrilled that there is a facility where
we can relocate orphaned elephants if the need arises. We have
also assured the orphanage that we are totally committed to assisting
them in raising and rehabilitating these orphans. We plan to visit
early in the New Year and see how they are doing.
Of course, none of this would have been
possible without the kind support from all our sponsors who very
generously donated towards the movement of Chodoba and Chamilandu.
A million thanks again
Rachel
Report from Rachel Mc Robb, CEO of South Luangwa Conservation
Society (SLCS) who transported Chamilandu to Kafue
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
top of page
|
