21 Dec 2022

Four orphaned elephants will be reintroduced to the wilderness next year, after spending five years at Elephant Havens orphanage.

Located about 45 kilometres north east of Maun and nestled along the Gomoti River banks, at the edge of the Okavango Delta, the orphanage provides refuge, daily care and companionship for orphaned baby elephants until they are ready to be reintroduced to the wild.

Since they were abandoned as babies and could not survive on their own, the four baby elephants were taken to the orphanage to be fed, cared for and eventually named, to bond with the handlers, who lived with them in their enclosure.

The orphanage managing director, Mr Boago Poloko revealed in an interview, that they had secured a plot where they would release the animals to stay with zero human contact, before eventually being re-introduced to the wild to become part of the elephant community.

Mr Poloko explained that they had a 20-year commitment to take care of the animals, revealing that five years were for providing nursery, then release them to an area where they could live freely and continue monitoring them to ensure they were not going into people’s habitat.

The orphaned elephants were christened; Mmamotse, Bonolo, Tsholofelo and Lerumo.

Mr Poloko said the animals would be leading a new life come next year, where they would have no stress of interacting with elephant handlers.

Mmamotse, he said, was the first rescued female baby elephant and they saw it fit to name her Mmamotse, loosely translated ‘Haven queen’.

She was rescued from Sekondomboro village in the Okavango panhandle following suspected poaching in 2017, while one-year two-months-old and she is now over five years old.

Mr Poloko explained that some Sekondomboro residents had reached out to them after they learnt about the orphanage, as Mmamotse was roaming around the village looking for food, water and safety.

He said an arrangement was made with the relevant authorities to capture her.

Mmamotse, he said, had become the queen of the orphanage as she connected well with handlers and loves all the attention that people lavish on her.

“She has become easy going, kind and loves everyone who gets close to her.

She also made visitors trips memorable because of her love and kindness,” he added with a smile.

The orphanage has more than 10 orphaned baby elephants, making it a tourist destination of choice for both local and international visitors, who want to appreciate and experience elephants up close and personal, in a non-threatening setting.

Visitors have the opportunity to also feed the baby elephants.

Meanwhile, Miss Botswana, Lesego Chombo recently visited the orphanage as part of her profile for Miss World.

Besides being a tourist destination, the orphanage is also a venue for educational programmes for locals and those passing through to the Okavango Delta.

Mr Poloko expressed happiness that the orphanage was achieving its mandate.

He said they opened their doors in 2018, and next year the first batch of the orphaned elephants would be released.

He acknowledged that they were receiving more visitors and thanked them for supporting the orphanage, adding that they had increased staff from 22 to 28, which are mostly young people. ENDs