Khanyisa uses her trunk to dust herself with sand on her morning walk with the Jabulani herd

What a morning – it was super bright and sunny, and a slightly warmer than others.

Khanyisa eagerly awaited the elephants’ arrival, greeting Bubi with much excitement. We didn’t get much footage of her time with all of the herd in the stables, but Adine explained that Tokwe (the Matriarch) and her daughter Limpopo continue to fuss over Khanyisa, and Bubi always moves aside when they are near. Tokwe seems to accept Lundi’s role with Khanyisa, but Bubi still moves away in their presence.

When Khanyisa starts to move towards Bubi, they seem to block her, but we are not sure if they are blocking or trying to get her to suckle from them.

Adine spent some time with Tokwe distracting her, and Bubi took the opportunity to join Khanyisa. Khanyisa was happy to find her and started suckling from her straight away. Timisa, Kumbura and Limpopo were also fussing over Khanyisa, but soon Adine split the herd for the morning walk. So Timisa, Kumbura, Limpopo said their goodbyes for the day.

During the morning walk, Adine tried to let Khanyisa know about some fresh dung from Bubi, as she likes to eat it in the mornings (an act called coprophagia). Adine walked around the bushes to try to get the dung nearer to Khanyisa, and Bubi let her know very abruptly and very clearly that she was not happy with Adine moving into that position.

Adine said it all happened quite suddenly and Lundi, Setombe and Klaserie moved between Bubi and Adine rumbling loudly as Tigere and Israel also tried to calm them all down. It was a stark reminder to remember that we are in their territory and to appreciate the protective bond that has formed between Khanyisa and the elephants, which is obviously, wonderful!

Keep an eye out for Khanyisa’s sweet trunk-action as she dusts sand all over her little body – she has already learned so much from her new family!

For the rest of the walk, Khanyisa spent time bonding with Bubi, Lundi and Klaserie, and continues to find her groove and stride within the herd, which brings so much joy to all of us!

Khanyisa’s tummy still has some occasional bouts of watery stools, which often happens when she has been with the entire herd. This could be a result of over excitement and nervousness too. As always, we continue to keep an eye on her!

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