Farewell to Baby Elephant Orphan, Snare Victim, Fenya

A Message From Adine Roode, HERD Founder... 🙏🏽🐘✍🏼

Fenya means "Survivor"... It’s ironic, but we knew that the little calf had already faced almost two months of being a Survivor, surviving the grip of the poacher’s snare, alone, starving and injured, and we wanted to believe with our whole hearts that she could survive the months and years ahead. We wanted to believe that she had it in her, that spirit to fight. But her body was just too battered to keep up with her soul. She is a soul survivor, in my eyes.

It wasn’t easy to become her friend in the beginning. It wasn’t easy later on either. I realise in hindsight that she didn’t really want to become friends with us, not fully, not with her whole guard down, as she might have known, felt and seen more than we ever have when it comes to the cruelness of the world. Hindsight is always the best sight, Dr Rogers says.

At times I really thought that she would pull through and I think she felt that too. That will to heal. Those were the times when she took the bottle with ease and drank great mouthfuls, when she allowed me to clean her deep wounds which were bigger than my two fists together. The trauma cream helped ease the pain; she would often close her eyes as I applied it and I could almost feel her relief.

The HERD team worked hard without stopping. We worked in a heat wave, when the power went out, through lunch and dinner, when Fenya needed immediate assistance, and we did it for her. Not for any other reason. I’m so in awe of the selflessness of my team and for the around-the-clock care and support they provided, along with the incredible assistance from Dr Rogers and his team. We do this work because we believe that we must contribute to help make this battered world a better place. Although I am extremely saddened by Fenya’s loss, as are my entire team, I am confident that we did our best and that her body was simply too battered to carry out the dreams that we all had for her.

The power of one is boundless, imagine the power of many. This power can be used to do such good, as we have seen, but it can also destroy. The power to destroy has fatal consequences and the reality is devastating. This is what ended the life that Fenya was meant to lead, with her herd in the wild. People are hungry. People are desperate and will do what they can to survive. But we can’t stop trying to right the wrongs.

Fenya’tjie, you filled and absorbed our hours, our days, our weeks. You taught us so much and showed us great glimmers of the beauty of your species. Even in the sadness, we continue on… to help those still with us, to care for them, witness the joy of life through them and with them. You never met your new herd, trunk to trunk. But they were aware of you and you were aware of them.

They were waiting for you to recover, to make it through the ICU. They huddled around, stayed close, waiting to embrace you. The herd didn’t get to meet Fenya close-up, tusk to tusk, and I’m relieved for them that they don’t have to mourn her, that, being such sensitive creatures, they don’t have to share our pain.

It’s never good to rush the process. You need to feel to heal. I hope you all take some time. Personally, I will be with my human children for a few days. I am grateful for everyone who has sent wishes, advice, questions and opinions. Thank you for your research, for sharing and caring. Every bit will assist in the future. I am focused on writing it all down… Fenya’s journey, the ups and downs, the immense data gathered by my team and me over the past three weeks.

Our HERD team will continue sharing content with you, from Fenya as well as Khanyisa and the herd, for you to watch and follow and enjoy, while we all recoup and heal over the loss of the little life lost. Once again thank you for every prayer, thought and wish. 🙏🏽💖🙏🏽

Видео Farewell to Baby Elephant Orphan, Snare Victim, Fenya канала HERD Elephant Orphanage South Africa