The Jabulani Herd’s reaction to orphaned elephant Mopane’s dung.

Preparation for orphaned elephant Mopane’s arrival goes beyond building a custom-designed orphanage and environment.

Part of the reintegration process begins with the well-known Jabulani herd becoming familiar with the smell of Mopane through his dung before his arrival.

Five weeks ago, we strategically placed Mopane’s fresh dung along the pathway of the herd to see their reaction.

In this video, you can see their reaction to his dung. There was a lot of interest, excitement and communication – verbal and nonverbal.

To date, nobody knows exactly what and how much information elephants can detect from the dung scent and this reaction just gives us a glimpse into their incredible intelligence and the deeper connection amongst these great grey giants.