Name: Jabulani

Meaning of Name: ‘Happiness or Rejoice in Zulu language’ (1)

Born: 1997

Gender: Male (Bull Elephant)

 

Age When Rescued: four months old (1)

Elephant’s Home:  HERD (Hoedspruit Elephant Rehabilitation and Development, South Africa)

Location: ‘in the Kapama Private Game Reserve in South Africa’ (5)

 

 

For more information on this Sweet Elephant’s Life & for more photos visit HERD (1)

ADOPT/FOSTER JABULANI copy and paste link (6) found in ‘Sources’ below

 

Elephant Became Orphaned Because of: The baby had fallen into a silt dam and became stuck in the mud and despite their desperate, and unsuccessful, attempts to get little Jabulani out of the hole (as evidenced by the injuries left on his little body) his elephant herd had no choice but to leave him behind. (4)

Personality: Jabulani ‘loves to be part of the action’ with a ‘playful’ nature at that. He is also a ‘highly intelligent’ and inquisitive elephant. (3)

Elephant Friends: Jabulani “loved and still loves humans!” After all, being hand reared by humans from such a young and vulnerable age is the only life he has ever known. (2) 

 

 

Elephant’s Characteristics: This bull elephant is tall, rather lanky, and stands ‘proud’. His tusks are ‘short and evenly spaced’ and extend in a ‘slight outward direction’. (1)  

What Makes this Sweet Elephant Unique: Jabulani has always taken extra care to welcome elephant orphans into his new elephant family. (as evidenced by the way he welcomed orphan Khanyisa  into the herd not too many years ago. (See HERD video ‘Elephant bull, Jabulani’s unique bond with baby elephant orphan, Khanyisa’.) (1)

For he knows loss having experienced the loss of his elephant mama. Such sensitivity for a bull amongst a herd of mostly (as the years have gone by there have been elephant births) unrelated elephants is quite unique. 

 

 

Oh, The Tales He Could Tell!: If not for Jabulani there would be no HERD Trust (Hoedspruit Elephant Rehabilitation and Development, South Africa) (7) as we have come to recognize it today!

When Jabulani was rescued there were no other orphaned elephants until the ‘Band of Misfits**’ came along. Thankfully their Matriarch Tokwe welcomed the five-year-old bull into their herd after a failed attempt to reintegrate him into a herd in the wild. (2) (4)

It was then that the inspiration for an elephant orphanage sanctuary we now know as HERD Trust began.

**An elephant herd rescued in 2002 by HESC (Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre, South Africa) from Zimbabwe

 

 

Images: from ‘Jabulani the First Elephant Orphan Turns 25!’ & full copyright belongs to HERD (4) elephants walking – Jabulani on left with aunt Lundi on right, little Khanyisa & dominant bull Sebakwe behind; Elephant Manager Tigere with Jabulani; Baby Jabulani; In Your Face Jabulani!; Jabulani at tree (on left)

 

 

Sources:

(1) https://herd.org.za/animal/jabulani/

(2) https://herd.org.za/blog/jabulani-the-elephant-bull-turns-25-from-orphan-to-herd-member/

(3) https://jabulanisafari.com/blog/a-power-struggle-takes-place-between-elephant-bulls-jabulani-fishan/

(4) ‘Jabulani the First Elephant Orphan Turns 25!’ By HERD 

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=+HERD+elephant+orphanage+South+Africa+Jabulani+creative+commons

(5) https://herd.org.za/location/ 

(6) https://herd.org.za/animal/jabulani/#foster

(7) https://herd.org.za/our-story/

(8) https://www.facebook.com/HERDElephantsSA/ 

 

HERD Facebook (8)

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Elephant Spoken Here twitter @ESHelephants