Diary of an Elephant Orphan follows the journey of a baby elephant orphan and her passionate team, on their mission to integrate her back into an elephant herd.
Little orphan elephant Khanyisa miraculously survives severe dehydration and malnourishment, after being trapped in a deadly poacher’s snare. After being rescued and nursed back to health, a much larger challenge awaits her: she needs a family of her own.
The experienced team knows that a wild elephant herd will, most likely, not accept her. The next best option is to try with a semi-wild family – one made up of orphaned elephants themselves that had been rescued from Zimbabwe 25 years ago.
Will this herd of 15 elephants accept little Khanyisa? Will these large, 3 tonne animals allow the human carers to feed the baby her milk amongst them in the bush out in Big 5 territory?
The team hasn’t attempted anything like this with such a young elephant before, but they know that it’s best for her in the long run. If they manage to pull it off, this might change the face of elephant rehabilitation in South Africa.
Director: Hermien Roelvert
Producer: Hermien Roelvert, SkyDrum Films
* * * * *
