Part three of Lundi and Phabeni’s introduction is full of activity as heavy rain starts to pour down on everyone.

Read the full story by Adine about this introduction here: https://herd.org.za/blog/elephantorp...

Adine recounts the tale of the rains:

The weirdest rain storm started. It rained on the one side of the homestead and we could see and hear it on the roof, but we were still dry without any drops. Soon the rain started on our side of the homestead and poured down in buckets over the whole homestead. On the other side with the herd, who were out foraging in the bush, Sebakwe got spooked and ran, with Somopane and Tokwe. The three ran towards each other with loud trumpets. It upset Lundi and we decided to take Phabeni back to the orphanage to prevent any negative experience during the integration. Lundi twirled around and Jabulani also got a bit uptight. Phabeni was standing in the middle and unsure of what to do, who to follow. We battled to hear each other above the sound of the rain on the roof. We tried to lure Lundi with fruit and pellets, but she would come and then reverse to Phabeni, who was not sure where to go, who to follow.

There was a bucket at the gate with sweet potatoes and apples, waiting for Phabeni. With a bit of disorganised chaos, Lundi followed Joshua to the orphanage to walk Phabeni back home. Phabeni could not get past her though and it took some effort before he could enter the orphanage. With all the trumpeting and rumbling, he was upset and wet and cold, pacing up and down the orphanage. As it was sooner than anticipated, his milk bottle wasn’t prepared and while nursery carer, Khensani prepared his bottle, Joshua and I called and finally convinced Phabeni to come to the nursery for warmth and comfort.

Before putting on his blanket, we dried him with a towel. We were concerned that he could get a cold, especially with the stress of integrations, you can never be sure of the impact it can have on such a little elephant. How much are they able to absorb safely? Rather be safe than sorry.

In the distance, we followed the commotion as Jabulani and Lundi joined the rest of the herd. It was clear that they were not upset by the integration of Phabeni but about the rain and the storm, which was a relief as we are working towards a smooth transition for one and all.

Phabeni drank his milk and in the meantime, Herman sped off in the rain with the wheelbarrow to fetch some bedding for the clean nursery. The rain interfered with us, but we needed the rain and were happy with the buckets pouring down.

Lammie and Spotty joined Phabeni and soon, the little elephant took a nap in his clean nursery on his fresh bedding under his new Springbok ‘blankie’.
We are progressing, little by little, and in the end, all went well. We couldn’t be more grateful!