Saving orphaned elephants in South Africa

In September 2016, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) announced in its recent African Elephant Status report that elephant populations have seen the worst decline in more than 25 years. The reason is that poaching had intensified in the previous ten years. Since the 2007 report was published, the population has declined throughout Africa by more than 100,000 elephants.

To address these staggering statistics, Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre, based in South Africa, established a sanctuary for elephants and rhinos orphaned in the wild or in need of care. It has also been working on developing a synthetic formula for elephant milk to give orphaned elephants the best chance at survival.

This work falls under the Environment Programme‘s wildlife conservation and trade sub-Programme, which works to protect rhinoceros and elephant populations and ensure that conditions exist for these species’ survival in the wild.

Check out this cool video to see the centre in action!