The Abu Herd

Abu Camp is the sister camp to Seba; a high-end luxury camp catering to a wealthier clientel and is located approx 20 minutes drive away (over rough tracks) from Seba Camp, where I stayed. Seba Camp was originally the research and training camp, with no guest accommodation, as this was where the elephants of the Abu Herd were originally based. The elephants now have a Boma complex at Abu Camp from where they give elephant back safari’s to the guests of that camp.

Cathy

The Abu Herd started in 1990 with three captive elephants from the USA - Abu (senior), Cathy and Benny were brought to Africa, by Randall Moore, to feature in a film, Circles in a Forest, and instead of being returned back to zoo’s, safari parks or circuses after the end of filming, he kept them in Africa to live out in the bush on a 450,000 acre private concession of wilderness within the Okavango Delta. To add to these three adult elephants, he acquired a ‘brat pack’ of six young elephant orphans saved from culls in South Africa. These were three females Sherini, Gikka, Nandipa and three males Mafunyane, Thando and Seba (Seba was rescued to star in another film Whispers).  With these elephants he started the Abu Camp and Elephant Back Safari experience.

Gikka

Since then the core group has been expanded by additions.  There has been seven births within the group (fathered by wild or released bulls) -  To Sherini 4 calves Raditlou Wantha (dying soon after arriving two months premature), Pula,  Young Abu and Warona. To Gikka one calf - Naya, and to Kitimetse two calves - Lorato and Naledi. A ‘problem’ wild young bull, Mthondo Mbomvu, from Zimbabwe joined the group in 1993 where he quickly settled down under Abu’s (senior) firm guidance and two ‘natural’ orphans were adopted (Kitimetse and Paseka) who were both found after attacks by predators.

Sherini

Randall Moore’s vision was to eventually release elephants back to the wild, if he could, and from his herd, ten have been released to live in the wild since 2002  - seven bulls Benny, Abu, Mafunyane, Mthondo Mbomvu, Thando, Pula and Seba and three females Nandipa, Gikka and Naya. Nandipa and Gikka have since had calves conceived and born in the wild - Nandipa three and Gikka one. Four deaths - Abu (senior), Benny, Seba and recently Kitimetse has passed away not long after the birth of her last calf, Naledi, was born.

When I was at the camp, there were eight elephants in the Abu herd - Cathy (born 1960), Shereni (I have no record of her DOB), Gikka (again I have no record of her DOB), Kitimetse (born approx 1996), Young Abu (born to Sherini 2006), Naya (born to Gikka 2003),  Lorato (born to Kitimetse 2008) and Paseka found in 2009 as a very young calf – adopted by Sherini.

Lorato

During the month I was there, Abu Camp was closed as it was having a revamp and the elephants were having their annual month off from work. For the herd the day started with their mahouts bringing them browse and cleaning their Boma, followed by some training and research work. Once a week Dr Kate Evans would go to the camp to take samples of dung (as comparisions to the samples she took from the wild population) and she would also do regular measurements like height and foot size. After this was all done, usually around 7am, the elephants would then be ridden bare-back out into the bush. They would be ridden to a few choice spots where the mahouts would set up a very temporary day camp and settle the elephants for the day to feed, interact and play. Sometimes wild bulls would pay a visit to ‘check the girls out’ and occasionally mate with them. A couple of mahouts stayed with the elephants all day to keep an eye on them and around 5pm the other mahouts would return and ride the elephants back to the Boma, via a mud bath to cool off and have the necessary natural mud spa treatment that elephants need to protect and condition their skin.

Part of the research of Elephants For Africa is being involved in the reintroduction and monitoring of the released elephants. Tracking the radio signals of the individuals when they are within the area, checking their condition and if possible getting dung samples from them. Being able to have access to the Abu Herd gave another aspect to the research - collecting data and samples from them and being able to compare that data with their wild counterparts was invaluable. I visited the Boma with the researchers four times to see them at work, but missed out on the fifth and last visit due to having sudden chronic back pain for the last 5 days of my stay in camp, in which I was confined to quarters! That last visit was one in which I was due to have my photo taken with the elephants, mahouts etc. So I was not a happy bunny about missing that.

Naya

I also spent three precious separate days out in the bush with the Abu Herd and their mahouts. Those days out with the herd in the bush were priceless… I could spend time sketching and photographing the elephants close up and used this time to try and learn their shape, stances and details. 

When I was out on the ‘Route Drives’ with the researchers, there was no way I could get close enough to get such details and most of the time it was impossible to sketch (due to the rough terrain - I travelled standing up in the back of the Landrover with one hand holding desperately onto the vehicle and the other clamping my camera to my body to stop it getting bashed about). Also these Route Drives were the researchers at work... it was not a 'game drive' for me, so apart from stopping to do focals on any elephants seen, we were pretty much always on the move. Although they did stop for me now and again to get photo's, but time was of the essence and I was very aware that they were working so I didn't like to ask. Sketching and photo opportunities were continuous so I could not expect them to keep stopping, especially not for any length of time. 

Young Abu

When I was able to sketch in the vehicle… I just drew quick ‘impressions’. Also I was very aware that I had to limit my sketching activity. I could have sketched loads, but I was limited to one sketchbook, so had to ‘ration’ myself. I really could have done with three or four sketchbooks, but weight allowance for the smaller flights on my journey to and from Botswana and the Delta restricted my art supplies drastically.

But mostly, during the time with the Abu Herd, I just watched and listened to the wind, birds, insects and, of course, the elephants.  That time to ‘feel’ the bush around me, watching the change in light through the day, to sit and notice insects and birds come and go all around me and to be shown plants and animals by the mahouts, learning from them some secrets of the bush and watching the Abu Herd elephants relaxing was all very, very precious and all sunk into my subconscious to influence my painting later when I was back in the UK. 

I shall write more of some of my adventures during these three days.. most especially I look forward to writing about the encounter with a wild bull elephant named, by the researchers as, ‘Hunter’. 

Kitimetse

Since I was there in March 2011 the group dynamics of the Abu Herd has changed. Gikka and Naya were released to the wild later in 2011; Young Abu, of his own accord, left the herd in 2013 and both Sherini and Kitimetse have had calves - Warona and Naledi. Gikka and Naya have adapted well to wild life with Gikka conceiving shortly after her release, and now has a wild born calf in tow, which is fantastic news. But to counter that, I was greatly saddened to hear that Kitimetse has passed away in January this year, just about 2 months after giving birth to Naledi - who is now being hand-reared, as Cathy and Sherini, although lactating, did not have enough milk for another calf.

Paseka

So now the herd is down to two adult females – Cathy and Sherini and four calves – Lorato, Warona, Naledi and Paseka. Lorato is the oldest at six years and little Paseka, who was the babe of the herd, is now the second oldest at 5 years. I bet between the four calves, there’s a lot of mischief and play… what a handful they all must be!