Joy and energy abound in this May update

We send greetings to all of you who make this report possible. Though we’ve been back in the U.S. for just over three weeks, we have been rather tardy in providing this update, So, with apologies, we write now.

This April at Elephant Havens was wonderful for many reasons—tons of visitors came, everything is still green, and the flood has commenced its annual push. You can smell that clear fresh miracle of water in the air, and what is one day a broad Kalahari plain becomes a shiny mirror of water two days on.

With a good rainy season and promise of strong floods, the routine at Elephant Havens is finally uninterrupted by calls three times weekly to see to a baby elephant wandering alone in a village, orphaned by conflict, or either mired in the mud of a drying wallow or left in the dust as herds move far and fast for diminishing forage and water. We now have water everywhere and plenty of food in places that keep elephants and people from competing. So that is a very good thing.

April brought delight in bunches, and by that I mean there are bunches of elephants at the orphanage, bunches of children gathered for Elephant Havens’ outreach, and lots of people visiting to spend time seeing what we do.

An update on the little elephants—all 21 of them. Quite a herd, who, even if they are not all that tall, provide plenty of action all the time. So from 6 a.m. when they make their sleepy way out of their bomas, they are a blast to watch as they make their way to our acacia grasslands for fresh grasses and vines, as well as a variety of acacia trees and other less thorny offerings.

Some of this large herd browse far from the where the handlers have gathered, while other babies swing by to enjoy a scratch from those with willing hands and fingers or to have some conversation with their human companions.

Our littlest one, Joy, still is mostly on the bottle, so she may spend the two hours before the 8 a.m. bottles teetering on termite mounds or visiting the assembled handlers as she discovers shoe laces, camera bags, day packs and other wonders that exist within 36 inches of the ground. She’s still quite attached to KT, her first ‘mother’ when she came to us. But she really enjoys being with the herd these days, too. Honestly, Joy brings so much joy to everyone here at Elephant Havens.

By 8 a.m., when the first of eight bottles are brought out (and continue to be delivered every three hours around the clock), the littlest elephants have separated themselves into the first feeding group and made their charge toward wherever their ‘mothers’ have assembled. Next, the slightly older and larger babies rush in for their row of bottles, while those that are already weaned keep on with their jobs of being elephants. This process repeats all day, and then each elephant is fed at night in their own private boma.

The orphanage is rather far flung across many acres now, so even with this large herd we can move them (or let’s be honest, they can move us) around all day long for fresh, natural habitat, stopping at rain pans or flood-fed water holes and natural mud wallows and sand baths. Their travels are interrupted at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. if there are guests to welcome. At that appointed time, some of the herd makes its way to a meet-and-greet event, as you all may well know. Guests then have an hour with the babies who assemble around the exterior of a paddock while we corral the guests inside.

This is a nice routine and a delightful bunch to spend the day with. The fun does not stop at sundown, though. Once the 8 p.m. bottles are drained and part of the evening’s pile of Mopane branches have been munched, almost all of the babies will go to sleep. There, in the bomas, you have the night sounds of Africa and the stars radiant in that vast velvety sky as a backdrop to more than 20 sleeping babies, all breathing in rhythm. Oh my, it is a wonder.

But that is not the only bunch of energy and joy we encountered in April. One of our elephant handlers (you all likely know Kay) made a plan to serve her community. Kay is our first female elephant handler and is from our local community. Back in March, we introduced you to the ‘Ellie Hair Project’ where once per month, with the support of Elephant Havens and Kay’s beautiful heart and energy, she gathers at least 30 of the community kids who most need help with their hair onto our buses. They travel to a salon in town where Kay and her assembled expert hair team honor these kids by cutting, braiding, and styling their locks—a day of attention to their hair that will sustain them for a month.

It’s a win for the local salons and the kids, and also for Kay. There is a good meal supplied, too, since this project takes up the entire Saturday. It is a testament to the energy and joy I mentioned above. I’ve been at the Shorobe school when the buses returned. Just like after ‘field trips’ we enjoyed when we were young, the energy was wonderful as the kids piled off the buses. I hope that some terrific memories are being made. These children are very aware that the little elephants nearby are at the root of all of this good.

So, to recap, in April we found ourselves in the presence of youngsters, both two and four-legged, who are all impacted so much by the kindness of those supporters who read and have responded to these reports over time. Elephant Havens continues to move in new directions and to expand its impact in ways that are natural, but not always planned or anticipated—if that makes sense. It is truly fun and endlessly fulfilling. We’ve found that you just have to observe and listen and be open to those possibilities that arise. And then you, our supporters, make it all happen. Thanks for your boundless support.

With gratitude,
Scott, Debra, Bee and the (ever-growing) Elephant Havens Team