Africa is in the midst of a horrifying elephant poaching crisis. For every mother elephant killed, a calf is left behind – traumatized, helpless and alone.

There are many knock-on effects. When poachers lay wire snares to trap elephants, calves are often caught, and they become orphaned when their mothers abandon them after fruitless hours and days of trying to free them. These critically vulnerable orphans stand almost no chance of survival without your help today.

Credit: AP

Every 15 minutes, an elephant is killed for its ivory tusks. This amounts to a loss of nearly 100 elephants every day – and an orphan crisis.

Extensive studies have shown that elephants feel emotions including grief, joy, love and compassion. Mothers are fiercely protective and nurturing of their young, and females stay with their mothers for life.

Credit: HERD

Friend, imagine the distress of a baby elephant who watched its mother brutally slaughtered by poachers, its tusks hacked from her face. Or the agony of a mother forced to abandon her trapped, terrified baby – to see the infant she birthed and raised die before her eyes. Tragically, this is the daily reality for elephants in South Africa.

Alone, helpless, and without their mothers’ milk, most elephant calves will die within DAYS of being displaced or orphaned. Their survival depends on you.

Please, can baby elephants count on you today?

Credit: HERD

We are working with the Hoedspruit Elephant Rehabilitation and Development (HERD), a dedicated elephant orphanage in South Africa. Their mission is to provide critical, around-the-clock care and specialized nutrition to rescued elephant calves orphaned through poaching or snaring.

Calves like Khanyisa, a rare albino calf.

Khanyisa fell victim to a wire snare when she was just four months old, suffering for at least four agonizing days as the wire wrapped around her cheeks and cut into her mouth and ear.

Credit: HERD

Her mother was forced to abandon her.

After being rescued from South Africa’s Kruger National Park, Khanyisa was transferred to HERD for life-saving treatment.

Thankfully, through extensive stem cell treatment and rehabilitation, Khanyisa has made a miraculous recovery. But she still has a long road ahead of her. Elephant calves are extremely sensitive, and a gradual milk-weaning process must be followed.

If the weaning process is rushed, the calf will die.

Credit: HERD

Little Khanyisa and many other orphans like her require a special milk formula to support their survival. It is the closest thing to their mothers’ milk, and absolutely critical to their survival.

HERD is continually taking in orphaned elephants whose care and treatment is intricate and specialized. What the calves need most right now is special milk formula. It effectively supports their survival and brings them comfort because it so closely mimics their mothers’ milk.

As a species, elephants’ strong family bonds and delicate social dynamics are integral to their well-being. Thus, once fully healed, HERD’s orphans are gradually introduced to the Jabulani Herd – a unique and close-knit family of 16 rescued and orphaned elephants from Zimbabwe and South Africa, who are always accepting of new calves.

Credit: HERD

If we can raise $7,000 (£5,615), we can provide enough special milk formula for little Khanyisa and other orphaned elephants like her for the next three months.

Please, help little Khanyisa by donating now.

Elephants – especially orphaned calves – are highly vulnerable and dependent on the correct nourishment, care and companionship. Many rescued by HERD are injured, dehydrated, and traumatized.

It is critical that we provide these poor creatures with a special milk formula that replicates the vital nutrients they would receive from their mothers. With your support right now, we can rush this life-saving milk to orphaned baby elephants in need immediately.

Can orphaned elephant calves count on you now?