Photo credit: Elephants Without Borders
It Takes a Village to raise a child, or… an elephant! An ancient proverb that holds true within African cultures, which means that it takes an entire community of different people interacting in order for a child to experience and grow in a safe environment.
At the Elephants Without Borders Sanctuary, this holds true for the elephant orphan calves. The EWB “village” has many people that are needed and contribute to ensure the success of the elephants’ rehabilitation and placement back into the wild lands of Botswana.
Botswana is being recognized internationally as the world’s leader in elephant conservation and advocacy. Here, statesmen also understand that natural treasures provide a source of sustainable income for its people, well in to the future.
The “littliest” orphan at EWB came from the Tuli Block in the southern portion of Botswana. After an unfortunate human-conflict situation, Tuli lost her family and was found wandering by a lodge owner along the Botswana/South Africa border. She was airlifted by EWB’s rescue plane and arrived on-site the same day.
Her introduction to Molelo, another orphan, was the first reunion between an elephant from the south of the country and an elephant from the north, a sort of “artificial migration” that many elephants once were afforded freely before the habitat changed and migration routes vanished. Rescued at the age of one month last October, Tuli was in critical care but is now integrated into the small herd and full of spunk! She has bonded tightly with Panda – yes, another orphan at the village, and follows her adopted big sister, everywhere.