In an exciting development, the GRI (Game Rangers International) Elephant Nursery has officially moved from Lilayi Lodge to its new home in Lusaka National Park. The relocation represents a commitment to enhancing the welfare of Zambia’s orphaned elephants and advancing conservation efforts in the region.
An African Bush Elephant
About the GRI Elephant Nursery
The GRI Elephant Nursery is renowned for its dedicated efforts in nurturing orphaned elephants. It has been an essential component of the conservation landscape in Zambia. Founded in 2007, the Elephant Orphanage project is dedicated to rescuing, rehabilitating, and releasing orphaned elephants back to the wild. All of the work they do is underpinned by research.
GRI Wildlife Rescue Programme works with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Veterinary Unit to support welfare provisions for Zambia’s wildlife. GRI’s efforts began in 2007 with the establishment of GRI’s Elephant Orphanage Project and has grown to support a number of additional wildlife species over the years.
The Elephant Orphanage remains GRI’s primary project with an Elephant Nursery in Lusaka and a Release Facility in Kafue National Park, where the orphans are gradually reintegrated back into the wild. In May 2023, GRI merged with Zambia Primate Project to ensure primates impacted by humans, specifically in the illegal, domestic wildlife and bushmeat trade, are given a second chance for life back in the wild.
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The Move to Lusaka National Park
Lusaka National Park offers a larger and more natural habitat for the elephants. It is located just a short drive from Zambia’s capital city, Lusaka.
For those interested in witnessing the incredible work being done at the GRI Elephant Nursery, Lilayi Lodge continues to offer day trips to Lusaka National Park.
Lusaka National Park
The rescued and orphaned elephants, Lusaka National Park, Zambia.#wildlife
The Elephant Orphanage Project
The Elephant Orphanage Project (EOP) in Zambia, aims to rescue, rehabilitate and return orphaned elephants back to the wild. The orphans' mothers are often victims of poaching and human wildlife conflict.
Here's how the Elephant Orphanage Project works:
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- Rescue: When poachers kill female elephants, defenseless young calves can be left behind. Nursing calves, still dependent on their mothers, cannot survive without intervention.
- Rehabilitation: Our teams take orphaned elephants out for regular walks, put them on feeding schedules and even watch over them while they sleep. Trained keepers care for and watch over their charges constantly; taking them on daily ‘bush walks’, feeding them and staying close at hand to provide reassurance when the babies are in the stables at night. These keepers play a vital role in the emotional and social recovery of the young elephants, and become the ‘mother figures’ the babies desperately need.
- Release: Once the calves are no longer reliant on milk, are healthy and robust, and have formed a bond with their fellow orphans, they are moved to EOP's release facility within Kafue National Park. They spend most of their time browsing in the park under the watchful eye of the herds' self appointed matriarch and a limited number of elephant carers. Being within an environment of vast natural forests, inhabited by a local population of over 1,000 wild elephant elephants, there is every opportunity for the orphaned elephants to reintegrate with fellow elephants and eventually return to the wild.
Once the calves are no longer reliant on milk, are healthy and robust, and have formed a bond with their fellow orphans, they are moved to EOP's release facility within Kafue National Park. Here they are integrated into an already established orphan herd and learn to become independent of human support.
Baby elephants usually find themselves in the orphanage due to the poaching of their mothers for their ivory and even human conflict. Because of this combination, many very sadly do not survive without intensive care and nutrient rich milk that would have been provided by their mothers. The Elephant Orphanage Project employs and trains local Keepers to watch and care for them around the clock - their duties include daily walks exploring the local flora and fauna and learning to be a proper elephant, to being with them throughout the night as many of the orphans were involved in very traumatic situations when they lost their mothers and have nightmares, so having someone to comfort them when they have these horrible dreams.
The Kafue Release Facility
As soon as the calves can be weaned from the milk and become less dependent on the keepers care, they will be moved from the Lilayi Elephant Nursery to the Kafue National Park to join other older orphaned elephants at the EOP Kafue Release Facility. Here the ellies prepare to be more independent of human support and spend most of their days browsing freely in the National Park.
The Kafue Release Facility is adjacent to the ancient Ngoma Teak Forest where there is a 1,000 strong local elephant population, maximizing chances for the orphans to integrate with other elephants and gradually move back into the wild.
Kafue Release Facility
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Challenges and Costs
Elephants in Africa are under serious threat, primarily due to large-scale poaching for ivory and also as a result of conflicts arising from elephant/human interactions. It is estimated that 25,000 elephants are being killed in Africa every year… this works out at approximately one elephant killed every 15 minutes!
It costs a lot to raise an orphan and give them a second chance at life… a lot more than you might think… from a rescue, to release and beyond, including post-release monitoring and research. An ‘average’ rescue can be in the region of US$2,500. There are 18 orphans currently being cared for between the two facilities, each costing approximately $35,000 a year… the Elephant Orphanage Project has an operating budget in the region of $600,000 a year, which is an enormous struggle to secure.
Funding and Support
The Elephant Orphanage Project was established in 2007, with critical and on-going funding from the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and the Olsen Animal Trust, with the mission of rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing orphaned elephants back into the wild.
Visiting the Nurseries
You can visit the Lilayi Elephant Nursery, which is just a 35min drive from the centre of Lusaka any day of the year between 11.30 and 13.00. At 11.30 a staff member gives a short talk about the orphanage and you can visit the viewing deck which is an ideal vantage point for watching the elephants feed and play. Note that given the ultimate goal of releasing the elephants back to the wild, visitors are not permitted to touch the elephants.
Cost: Adults K50, Children ages 12-18 K20, Children under 12 free. Every Monday entry is free.
If you want to venture a little further off the beaten track, then you can visit the Elephant Orphanage’s Kafue Release Facility in the southern part of Kafue National Park, 12km along the South Nkala Loop from Ngoma (location of the National Parks and Wildlife Headquarters).
Volunteering Opportunities
Embark on an unforgettable journey to Lusaka and volunteer to protect orphaned elephant calves. A particular focus is on protecting the surrounding national park and its diverse flora and fauna. In the neighbouring Lilayi Private Game Reserve or Lusaka National Park, you can actively participate in biodiversity research.
As a volunteer in this species conservation project you will get the chance to make a valuable contribution to the protection of orphaned elephants and, at the same time, to discover Zambia’s fascinating culture and biodiversity up close.
There is also the option of combining your placement at the Elephant Nursery with a project stay in Kafue National Park - for an even more comprehensive experience of practical species conservation. You can find more information about this project here.
Mataya Meets the Herd
“Alone and suffering with machete wounds at only 6 months old, fragile rescue, Mataya, needed some focused keeper care before being ready to meet the other orphans." Conservation Behaviour Advisor, Lisa Olivier narrates Mataya’s first meeting of his new family, the Nursery Herd.
| Facility | Location | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Lilayi Elephant Nursery | Near Lusaka | First port of call for rescued elephants in Zambia; provides 24-hour care. |
| Kafue Release Facility | Kafue National Park | Where older orphaned elephants learn to live independently and reintegrate into the wild. |
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