After being trapped by poachers and abandoned by its herd, a rare albino elephant finds a new family and begins to learn how to swim.
Khanyisa the elephant next to its adoptive mother. (Photo: HERD)
The rare 2-year-old albino elephant, Khanyisa, swims on the surface of the water with its adoptive mother Limpopo and male elephant Fishan at the HERD orphan elephant sanctuary in South Africa. Tamlin Wightman, a staff member at HERD, stated that Khanyisa has loved playing in the water since arriving there. The young elephant was rescued at 4 months old in 2020 after being found trapped in a poacher’s snare by officials at Kruger National Park. It suffered severe injuries and had been abandoned by its herd.
Khanyisa was taken to the Care for Wild animal sanctuary for recovery, and later relocated to the HERD sanctuary in Limpopo province for resettlement. “We started introducing it to a new herd of rescued elephants. The herd spends most of the day roaming around the sanctuary. Khanyisa has bonded with its adoptive mother and several other mother elephants who are also caring for other orphaned calves. They teach Khanyisa how to swim and protect it in vulnerable areas like ponds,” Wightman explained.
Albino elephants are extremely rare and face many challenges in the wild. Due to a lack of pigmentation, their eyes and skin are particularly sensitive to sunlight. They also have poor eyesight. Typically, they are often abandoned by their biological families due to their unusual appearance. After swimming, Khanyisa often rolls in the mud to protect its skin.
Elephants form strong bonds with each other and develop long-lasting friendships, but they do not always accept other elephants into the herd. Introducing orphaned calves into a new herd is essential as they need companionship and protection from their peers. The herd at HERD is truly special as it accepts orphaned elephants and treats them as their own.
According to Wightman, Khanyisa is still nursing and sleeps overnight in the orphanage alongside two sheep named Lammie and Nungu. It has started swimming in shallow waterholes before moving to deeper areas with mother elephants always nearby for support.
