Do elephants remember who was kind to them?
Yes – and across decades. Our ex-orphans return to the stockades long after they've gone wild, recognise specific Keepers by name, and bring their wild-born calves home to introduce them. They even come back for help.
Last month, Melia walked her new daughter Moon to our Ithumba Reintegration Unit – sixteen years after we rescued her. She came back so the people who raised her could meet her calf.