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Orphanage Update - April 2008
Everyone is settling
well into our new camp and building work on the elephant stalls
has started. The weather has turned blustery and cooler, so the
little ones are wearing their blankets on their early morning
walks.
Phoenix
 After
Phoenix moved to the camp in mid-March she was rather disappointed
that she couldn't 'help the cooks' prepare our evening meal. But,
being used to fences when she was at Munda Wanga, she now just
comes around to say hi before going to the new boma to where we
have made a 'home' for her and to warm herself by the fire at
the milk tent. Unfortunately, she wasn't well again in March.
She kept lying down, five times in a 12-hour period. Unlike last
time, she was strong enough to get up by herself each time.
Our local vet visited and gave her some
medicine and we are supplementing her diet with pellets to build
her strength up. When her favourite keeper came back from his
leave last week he was most excited to tell me how much better
and fitter she now is. With the help of the vet, we are exploring
the possibility of carrying out some tests on Phoenix, to see
if she is missing anything in her diet or if there is an ongoing
problem. Unfortunately, this might mean we have to sedate her
but before we go ahead but we are seeking advice from the wildlife
vets in Lusaka.
Chodoba
 It's
great to see Chodoba gaining in confidence and he gave us all
a great surprise recently. Everyday he normally feeds all the
time when on his walks, with a quick drink and splash in the pools
to cool down. On one evening walk he wandered down to the water's
edge and after his usual drink, he waded straight into the water
and swam for the first time. You could see by the way he was moving,
his trunk up, that he is a completely natural swimmer. After playing
and splashing around he came out of the water looking very happy
before having a good roll around in the mud. It was so great to
see him absolutely covered in mud, before going off to feed once
again.
Chamalandu
 Chamalandu
welcomed Phoenix to the new boma by sharing a bowl of pellets
with her. Having been used to mixing with large elephants more
recently than the others, she easily interacts with Phoenix, especially
when she thinks she is doing something wrong! This is great for
Phoenix as it is teaching her how to interact and share with others.
Chamalandu does like to play and joke with Zamma. In their temporary
stalls she slides out her very heavy gun pole door and then sticks
her head over Zamma's stall and tries to play 'tug of trunk' with
him, much to his annoyance. Although she does pretend to be very
brave and feisty, her keepers were very amused to find her rushing
up to them on one walk. With her ears out and little legs running,
she hid behind them when she suddenly spotted our local male waterbuck
herd casually feeding nearby. For the rest of the walk she stuck
very close to the others, so she isn't quite as brave as she tries
to make out!
Zamma
 Zamma
also hasn't been well. Again, no one knows quite why he was off
his milk for five days and his dung had turned black and was very
runny. After close monitoring and a visit from the vet it was
decided it might have been a reaction to his milk. Although, he
is now experimenting with eating different plants when out on
walks, testing grasses, reeds and leaves, so we can't be exactly
sure what upset his stomach. He now has more energy and is playing
cheekily again, but we are closely monitoring him. We are also
giving him vitamin supplements and he is sleeping in his rug at
night to keep him warm so he doesn't catch a chill.
The keepers
During the same week that both Phoenix and
Zamma were ill, three of the keepers also had to go to our local
clinic - a bad cough, trodden on foot (Phonie does have rather
large feet!) and a swollen eye. The latter, according to the Sister,
wasn't an infection, but according to local tradition, one of
his relatives was 'expecting'. We all found this very amusing
and everyone cheered up immediately and they are now all fine
once more.
We have a new keeper for the little ones
- Dallas. He has been helping with the building and we thought
he would make a great new addition to our team of keepers. He
is a grade 12 school leaver and, like most of our keepers, his
father is a scout in Ngoma.
Poaching continues
We had bad news last week from the scouts.
Five elephants were killed in the Game Management Area, just north
of ITT Dam. The poachers were after tusks and we believe that
more than five might have been shot, so the scouts are still trying
to search for any evidence of wounded animals. Six suspects have
been arrested and we're waiting to hear what will happen next.
Wildlife release
There was much excitement the other day
at lunchtime as we successfully achieved our first release back
into the wild - not elephants, but ducks. Just after we had finished
eating our nshima, three fluffy chicks wandered into camp. One,
on seeing strangers, fled straight into our waste pit by the kitchen.
Our cook jumped in after it, rescuing the rather muddy and confused
duckling. After a quick check over to see that he was ok, we released
him and his brother into our pond. They immediately swam off,
loudly quacking to attract their third sibling who had been hiding
in the bushes. Within minutes they were all re-united and were
happily exploring their new home.
Ellie fame spreads
 We
had an unexpected visitor last week. Steven Rufas from SA Horseback
Safaris is setting up a new lodge just outside the park and was
visiting to find suitable campsites for his clients within the
park. After having read about us he popped in to introduce himself.
Unfortunately all the elephants were out on their walks, but he
had a quick tour of our new camp and he was most interested as
he is due to start his lodge in June and hoping to open to clients
next year. Now that the main rains have stopped, the lodges are
beginning to open and so we are being contacted by their owners
as all our ellies are now famous after the function in February
and so we will have to think of a way to welcome visitors without
upsetting the ellies.
Getting ready for Zamma's birthday
After a hectic few weeks, we are looking
forward our new ellie stalls, roads being graded, and Zamma's
1st birthday, so everyone is working very hard to ensure he is
in his new home by the beginning of May and we are all wondering
- what do you give an ellie for his birthday!
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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