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"Elephants once roamed over the whole of Africa, from the shores of the Mediterranean in the north to the slopes of Table Mountain in the south. They thrived even in the vast expanses of the Sahara, as ancient rock paintings there testify. But in the third millennium BC, as climate changed and the great rivers dried up, elephant and man alike retreated before the encroaching desert, some moving northwards towards the Mediterranean , others withdrawing to the sahel, the 'shore' of the Sahara, lying hundreds of miles to the south"
An extract from AFRICA'S ELEPHANT a biography written by Martin Meredith
Meredith goes on to describe how as early as 3000BC the Egyptians had developed different hieroglyphs to distinguish between wild elephants and trained ones. The pharaohs enjoyed hunting them and coveted them for their ivory.
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As the climate became increasingly arid, the local elephant population dwindled and disappeared, along with the rhinoceros and the giraffe.
The pharaohs then turned their attention to other areas, eastwards to Syria where herds of Asian elephants could still be found, and southward along the Nile Valley to Nubia and beyond. Large expeditions were despatched up the Nile to acquire 'the marvels of the land of Punt', and it was during the periods between the 25 century BC and 15th century BC that among these 'marvels' 700 elephant tusks were brought back as the voyagers returned.
And so it was that Ivory was in constant demand, both in Egypt and other lands around the eastern Mediterranean.
.....'Since the 5th millennium BC it (Ivory) had been treasured as a symbol of wealth and status. Its subtle glowing colour and sensual surface appealed to the carvers and the rich elite alike'
The use of Ivory became even more extravagant. The Old Testament records how in 1000BC Kind Solomon ordered the construction of a 'great ivory throne' overlain with gold. Solomon's temple in Jerusalem also used huge quantities of ivory. A palace (ordered by Kind Ahab) was built using so much Ivory that it became known as the ivory house, and as ivory became synonymous with luxury and decadence , an old testament prophet, Amos, warned, "The houses of Ivory shall perish."
AFRICADEMY will become home to the International Anti-Poaching Foundation :
Man's appetite for this white gold has not been satisfied. The carnage on our wildlife continues to decimate our biodiversities as poaching, no matter whether it be for subsistence, animal trafficking or medicinal reasons, continues to flourish and is now pegged as the 3rd largest criminal activity in the world (after drugs and illegal arms).
The Anti-Poaching Unit is now officially a part of the Africademy and the training of anti-poaching units could begin as soon as July 2011. It is through the Africademy and the Anti-Poaching Unit that we will be deepening our direct involvement in conservation.
Visit the Africademy for a tour.
Elephants of Eden (EOE) is our rehabilitation centre. It is here where we take in elephants from around the country that do not fit in with their environments, for whatever reason, and it here where we give them space to find themselves. No tourists visit EOE - a decision we made years ago and one that has massive financial implications on Knysna Elephant Park (KEP) - for it is KEP that has funded all the rescues and transfers we have done thus far to and from EOE.
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The Africademy is an academic environment designed to serve conservation as a whole. Academics from all over the world will now have the opportunity to visit the academy and participate in our quest to CONSERVE through EDUCATION. Please visit the site and explore the courses available.
African Elephant Research Unit (AERU):
"Research guiding elephant care" is the motto and driving force behind AERU. Having recently celebrated its first birthday, our elephants have certainly had their quality of life improved by the work done by the AERU team.
One of the biggest breakthroughs we achieved in 2010 was the development of the Animal Education Psychology Course in conjunction with Dr Marthe Kiley-Worthington, founder of the Eco-Etho Research and Education Centre in France.
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It is our opinion that 80% of sound animal welfare is derived from the human element dealing with the animals on a daily basis. So it is of paramount importance that we never stop applying ourselves to understanding more about how the animals we work with think, feel and see the world.
Dr Debbie Young and her team are constantly gathering and intepreting data, then putting it in basic language for all of us to understand and if necessary, adjust management of the elephants. Guests staying in our Elephant Lodge are invited to observe our cognitive sessions with the elephants. It is staggering to watch their (our guests') reactions to the work AERU does with the team. It is also very interesting to see how guests relate the lessons we have learned from the elephants to their daily lives.
Elephant Messages:
Our uniqueness lies deeply within our herd of elephants!
This does take some time to sink in with most people visiting our facility. Visitors in search of an elephant experience invariably miss the fact that they are walking amongst a herd of elephants. Our herd has slowly been developing (since 1994), bonding and growing under their leader, Sally. The controlled free range management system we practice at Knysna Elephant Park gives the herd freedom to perform these natural behaviours. This expression of self allows our elephant guides to walk with guests, amongst the herd, and interpret these natural behaviours as they unfold, as they would in the wild.
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During our Elephant Messages experiences (they take place between 06h45 and 08h00) we take the time to share how we work with the herd. We delve into their sentience, how they see the world and how they develop strategies to overcome problems they experience in the wild. We also conduct specialist Drug Rehabilitation sessions, where elephant strategy is used to assist addicts in coping with their own unique challenges.
The elephant herd has so much to teach us. They are bound by a moral fibre integral to their co-existence, something our society as a whole could learn from.
Elephant Messages is limited to eight people (unless one group books, in which case we will accommodate that group and not take other visitors).
Thank you for 2010.
To all of you who supported us in 2010, we are all most grateful and appreciative. We would also like to extend our gratitude to those of you who supported us via the social networks but were unable to get to the Park and walk amongst the herd. Thanks to Facebook we have been able to share so much with you.
























