Zimbabwe:
FOUR PAWS rescues abused elephants
FOUR PAWS has saved nine elephants from appalling conditions on a farm in southern Zimbabwe. The animals were captured from the wild and trained as tourist attractions. Currently, our team is taking care of the animals and preparing them for their return to the wild.
 In October 2008, the elephants were captured from the wild and were brought to a farm near Bulawayo in southern Zimbabwe. The animals were kept in a tiny enclosure, many of them with chains around their legs. In brutal attempts to tame them they were beaten with sticks and badly injured. Some of the elephants are very young, one female was pregnant.
Last minute rescue
When Dr. Amir Khalil from FOUR PAWS discovered the elephants in Zimbabwe, they were in a shocking state: most of them were undernourished and dehydrated. Many had wounds all over their body and were traumatized. Due to these conditions, one elephant has already died here. The original family group consisted of ten animals.
Helping together
In Zimbabwe, FOUR PAWS has joined forces with the ZNSPCA (Zimbabwe National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). The team has already solved the most pressing issues: installing water supplies, treating the injured animals, extending their enclosure and building shelters against the sun.
Journey to freedom
FOUR PAWS now takes care of the animals, and they are recovering gradually. Dr. Khalil and his team are carefully preparing them for their return to the wild. They are confident that they will be able to release the group to a national park very soon.
Online diaryElephants as working animals
Our team in Zimbabwe regularly reports in an online diary (in English) – click here to read the latest news.
 Using elephants as working animals is especially common in Asia, as Asian elephants are considered as “easier to tame”. Nevertheless, elephants from the wild are also trained as tourist attractions such as elephant safaris in the southern parts of Africa. Many of these animals are sold to the tourist industry around the Victoria Falls between the countries Zimbabwe and Zambia.
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