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The youngest allomother in the herd…
But one so beautifully and naturally equipped for the role… is Kumbura, one of the orphan elephants integrated successfully into the herd.
Kumbura has taken to Khanyisa just as she did with little Timisa, following the calf everywhere with such tender love and dedicated care and concern. This video shares some sweet and fascinating moments in Kumbura’s journey as allomother.
When Kumbura was rescued, she was found traumatised, alone and vulnerable and there was no sight of her mother or herd. Very little information is known about what happened to her original herd. Her health had extremely deteriorated due to the stress and trauma that she had gone through.
As we rehabilitated her slowly and introduced her to the herd, she started to recover over the months. She was able to receive a lot of essential comfort from the other younger elephants and she started accompanying the rest of the herd in the bush and began to gain confidence as she realised she had a new family.
Kumbura became an allomother to Timisa when the calf arrived in 2016 and played the most important and successful role in raising Timisa.
Kumbura walked side by side with Timisa in every activity she could.
Kumbura’s love for baby elephants shows that she may have had a younger sister or a younger brother, or perhaps her mother was a Matriarch, as she has vast experience with the babies. We can also see this in how she interacts with little Khanyisa, in the presence of other females.
Kumbura is a lovely young female elephant with a genuine love for calves and there is no doubt that one day she will become a phenomenal mother or even a Matriarch. She has a natural empathy and instinct to protect.
Adopt Kumbura HERE.
