Incredible moments with Elephants - The Jabulani Herd and orphaned albino calf, Khanyisa.

Magnificent moments with Somopane, Lundi, Klaserie and the rest of the herd, as they regroup during their day to once again form a protective wall around little Khanyisa, as they move through the reserve.

Adine joined them in the late afternoon, meeting up with Somopane first who had ventured ahead of the herd. While foraging, he pushed down a tree into the sand road. Foster, an elephant carer, saw it from a distance and asked him to push it out the way - which he did with absolute ease - considering the weight of the tree. Such incredible strength and intelligence.

Lundi approached from some distance away and showed quite expressive behaviour. There can be many reasons for this, and we have to take a lot of factors into consideration to try to understand it properly. We often consult with our highly experienced elephant advisors to get clarity from a 3rd party perspective.

Lundi, Khanyisa's adoptive mom, showed a powerful arrival, with her ears displayed out, secretion from her temporal glands as well as from her ears. She also urinated at the same time. So often elephant behaviour representing highly emotional reactions can be confusing to many - trying to understand if it is anger, frustration or joyful excitement.

Yolanda Pretorius, a trusted elephant advisor to HERD and JABULANI received the videos and asked questions which included:

Did anything significant happen with Lundi and the rest of the herd ahead of joining Adine and Somopane? (No)

How far along was it during their day out in the wild? (Most of the day)

Somopane and Lundi's hormonal cycles would have been a significant consideration, but as is it not part of our objectives to breed with the herd, they are on contraception that inhibits testosterone production in the males and prevents the cows from entering oestrus.

Was Somopane separated for some reason from Lundi earlier in the morning before heading off to the wild? (No)

Was it the first time that Lundi had seen Adine on that day? (Yes)

It was suggested in a high probability that as Adine had just arrived to join the herd, and it was the first time Lundi was seeing her that day, it was a very grand and accepting way of greeting her, and "a privilege" to be greeted like that by an elephant, as it means she was very pleased to see you.

After the rest of the herd joined, they continued with their walk. There is some beautiful lengthy footage of Klaserie walking boldly ahead of the herd, following Adine (who somehow manages to walk backwards effortlessly without falling over, and keeping her iPhone so smooth without any stabilising equipment).

Khanyisa always keeps close to Lundi as they walk, but it was lovely to see the grey wall of protection flanking her every side as they waded gracefully through the reserve.

The herd passed by the dam, some stopping for a quick refreshment before they headed back to their stables which are located in a large protected piece of land.

Khanyisa then joined Lammie in the orphanage to forage on some fresh grass before her 6 PM bottle.
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Видео Incredible moments with Elephants - The Jabulani Herd and orphaned albino calf, Khanyisa. канала HERD Elephant Orphanage South Africa