As the HERD team continues building the in Memory of Limpopo Research Centre, our attention now turns to the inside of the centre: what lies at its heart, and what is needed to make this dream a fully functioning reality? While starting the build is a major accomplishment, setting up a fully equipped research centre … Continued
Bana grass, or elephant grass, remains a vital supplementary food source for the Jabulani elephant herd. It provides an excellent source of nutrition, including protein and fibre, and is fed to the herd in the stables at night. But recently, keeping this plantation alive and providing enough for the herd has been a full-time job. … Continued
Press Release – March 2026 Hoedspruit Elephant Rehabilitation and Development (HERD) has announced plans to establish a dedicated on-site research centre to advance scientific understanding of elephant health, emotional well-being, behaviour, and environmental stressors. South Africa is home to one of the largest remaining populations of African elephants. Yet despite their presence in game reserves … Continued
By Adine Roode Fishan, our 33-year-old elephant bull, injured his left front leg in September last year, after stepping into a man-made hole in the ground. His leg was too swollen to allow us to take decent X-rays, but it was clear that he had a fracture on the lower part of the leg, above … Continued
Three months ago, Fishan, one of the oldest elephant bulls in the herd, fractured his lower ulna bone in his front left leg, when he accidentally stepped into a hole. After two separate treatments on his leg, it was decided a month ago, to try let his leg heal naturally, and monitor his progress. Fortunately, Fishan … Continued
A few days ago I shared information about the second procedure that we undertook to try treat elephant bull Fishan’s fractured leg. Over the weekend Fishan’s leg started swelling quite badly, so we had to take the decision to remove the supportive contraption that we had fitted around his leg. Tigere and Schalk removing the dressing from Fishan’s leg, … Continued
Fishan is one of the largest and oldest elephant bulls at Jabulani, and one of the original herd that were rescued from Zimbabwe. Recently he injured his leg quite seriously, and fractured his lower ulna bone. In my previous post, I explained the processes that led up to the first fibercast application on Fishan’s injured leg, … Continued
Many people wondered why I disappeared on my birthday this year, and asked if I had been avoiding their phone calls. I have been known for avoiding social events, especially when the spotlight is one me, as I have never been one for too much fuss or attention. However, this was not the case. The … Continued
Fishan, one of the older male bulls of the Jabulani elephant herd, has hurt his left front leg, whilst feeding in a nearby river. Tigere, one of our elephant managers at Jabulani, stayed with him during the process of returning back to the stables, and shared a full update with us about what happened. Fishan managed … Continued
