We were holding our breaths as Phabeni rushed over to Lundi for this meeting! Lundi surrounded him immediately, protectively reversing toward him and touching his trunk with her own. It was an absolutely heartwarming introduction the second for Phabeni, after the little bull first met the older bull, Jabulani trunktotrunk.

Lundi was clearly excited by the occasion as you could see her streaming from the temporal lobe, on the side of her head, which happens during a state of heightened emotion. She seemed to be uncertain of what to do at first as this new little baby presented himself in front of her, but we believe the presence of Jabulani helped to keep her calm. Lundi shares her section of the homestead at HERD with Jabulani, where she sleeps at night with her son Mambo too.

Our hope is that Lundi might take Phabeni in as her second son, to help raise and guide him the way she did Khanyisa. But you never know... during these introductions another cow might show interest in taking on this role as mother to the newest orphan at HERD. Time will tell. For now, we are blown away by the bravery and coolness of little Phabeni. He is so clever and adapts quickly to each new situation he finds himself in. He seems very ready to be part of this new elephant family!

We are fortunate in this case as he has not needed as much rehabilitation as albino baby, Khanyisa needed, and so this introduction stage has come sooner and faster. Well done to our team on the ground and to these three elephants for showing the world that families can look different from the norm, that we can build our own families, and that no one ever needs to be left behind or alone.

You can help us to support Phabeni by adopting him and contributing to the many expenses of his care: https://herd.org.za/animal/phabeni/