Stop Snaring ~ A Multi-Language Message from Our Elephant Carers

By ffc_admin

We invite classrooms across the country or continent to share these videos with your students and spread the message! #STOPSNARING Our multi-language videos about snaring aim to reach more and more people across South Africa and beyond, and will form part of our community collaborations in schools, starting with English, Sotho, Shangaan and Shona. Watch … Continued

The Anatomy of an Elephant ~ The Elephant’s Hair

By ffc_admin

Khanyisa’s hairy albino chin! Elephants are anything but hirsute, but their sparse, strategically-placed hair is as important to them as is the head-to-toe covering preferred by many other mammals. In murky waters the bristle-like hairs on the snouts of the Amazon river dolphins allow them to forage in the muddy sediment while the tip of … Continued

Farewell Fenya ~ You Are Always in our Hearts

By ffc_admin

Adine Roode, founder of HERD, together with wildlife veterinarian Dr. Peter Rogers and the dedicated team of elephant carers at HERD fought day in and day out to gain her trust, and provide her with treatment and care. Blood tests were taken which showed very low albumin levels and a low red blood cell count … Continued

A New Orphan Elephant Calf at HERD: Fenya the Survivor

By ffc_admin

A second elephant calf snare victim was brought into our care at HERD Elephant Orphanage, South Africa, on 17 February 2021. This young female elephant calf was found on a private game reserve in Phalaborwa, in Limpopo province by local resident, Willem Botha and his son, Liam. She had a wire snare wrapped tightly around … Continued

The Anatomy of an Elephant ~ The Elephant’s Tusks

By ffc_admin

“If elephants didn’t exist, you couldn’t invent one. They belong to a small group of living things so unlikely they challenge credulity and common sense.” – Lyall Watson, South African botanist, zoologist, biologist, anthropologist, ethologist. Tusks are teeth, elongated and projecting incisors with the same physical characteristics as most mammalian teeth. There is a pulp cavity, … Continued

The Anatomy of an Elephant ~ The Elephant Ear

By ffc_admin

Playing it By Ear An elephant’s ears, with all of the nicks, notches, holes and missing bits is one of a kind and can serve a similar purpose to finger prints. Giant and easily readable reminders of past experiences, tangles with unforgiving thorn trees or opportunistic predators that are unique to each and every African … Continued

A True Survivor, Kumbura ~ An Orphan Successfully Integrated

By ffc_admin

Meet kind Kumbura, another orphan that has been lovingly accepted into the Jabulani herd Kumbura’s incredible story reveals so much about this special elephant, about conservation and about the need for a herd. It is a tale of going above and beyond, not taking no for an answer, and holding on, even when you feel … Continued