MADIBA

Named after Nelson Mandela by the name his friends affectionately call him, this three months old woolly little baby-elephant was found in Botswana in a dry riverbed. He had a gaping head wound , probably caused by a predator and was so terribly confused he could only stumble around in a circle.

Transport to the Nairobi nursery had to wait for the necessary CITES documents so in the meantime little Madiba stayed in Pretoria till his departure. Three months later he finally arrived at the nursery where mini matriarch Wendy immediately took him under her wing.

From the time he arrived he had strings of what are probably swollen lymphglands on the inside of his front leg and running up his trunk. The diagnosis was a chronic lymph gland infection that will probably stay this way forever. The medication that was given to Madiba by the practice slightly diminished the size of the glands but other than that Madiba is in top shape nothing much seems to be changed in the situation.