05 May 2022

Elephant Havens Wildlife Foundation has received about P136 000 (US$13 600) for the installation of a solar power system and electric fencing to ensure a safe habitat of rescued elephants.

Handing over the donation in Ghabamocha settlement on Wednesday, US ambassador, Mr Craig Cloud said the electric fence would help keep livestock and other wild animals out of the area set aside for rehabilitation of  elephants. 

“The young elephants were subjected to some form of brutality in the wild when their mothers were killed by poachers or abandoned in the wildness,” he observed. 

Located about 45 kilometres from Maun in Ghabamocha settlement, Elephant Havens is a habitat for orphaned young elephants that were rescued from the brutality they suffered in the wild.  

Mr Cloud said the donation, facilitated through the embassy’s initiative called The US Ambassador’s Special Self-Help Fund, underlined the foundation’s  vision of the need to conserve mother earth.

“Elephants play a big role in tourism, which is why we took a lot of interest in funding the benevolent project as part of the international community contribution,” he said. 

Mr Cloud commended Elephants Havens for conducting educational workshops for local communities on elephant behaviour and protection. 

Department of Wildlife and National Parks Principal Wildlife Warden, Mr Chalegwa Senamolela said the role played by Elephant Havens was profound in that it helped sustain the population of elephants in the country.

“Botswana has a large population of elephants that need to be protected so that they do not perish due to unfavourable conditions,’’ he said.

He noted that even though Elephant Havens was relatively new, having been established in 2017, they worked well with his department to locate vulnerable elephants as young as three months, most of which had been quarantined for rehabilitation and would be released when they were older.

Mr Senamolela noted that Elephant Havens was equipped with qualified elephant handlers and veterinarians to ensure that rescued elephants were rehabilitated in a proper manner. 

Elephant Havens Co-Founder and director Mr Boago Poloko said currently there were nine young elephants in the sanctuary which were rescued from different locations across the villages and Okavango Panhandle. 

Mr Poloko said the elephants were inducted through a special programme to help them learn to be independent. 

He said the sanctuary sits on 350 hectares of land that was donated by communities cradling Elephant havens of Ghabamocha and Ngangana. 

He highlighted that the rehabilitation programme for each young elephant lasted five years  and the first batch would be released next year. 

Mr Poloko indicated that a certain travel and safari company had agreed that they be released into their concession. 

He thanked the US embassy for partnering with them, a partnership, he said would go a long way in preserving more elephants. Ends