LIMPOPO – There are different ways to put a number to an elephant’s age, but according to elephant age ranges, Khanyisa is no longer a calf.

Khanyisa is a rescued albino orphan raised by Adine Roode and her team at Hoedspruit Elephant Rehabilitation Development (HERD).

At five years of age, she is officially a juvenile and will be until around nine years. At 10, she will move into the realm of a small adult.

Roode has shared Khanyisa’s journey on social media and has become very popular with a big following in her years at HERD.

“Our little pink silly-billy in her orange blanket chasing after a sheep with a tail like a trunk is no longer a baby,” says Roode. Five years feels especially long and significant when it’s the first five years of life. Calves are more fragile and vulnerable in the early stages of life. I am in that strange predicament many mothers and fathers find themselves in; wanting our little ones to grow big and strong overnight but hoping too that they will stay small forever, small enough to need us and to still look cute even when they’re tearing up the living room, or bush,” says Roode.

Khanyisa likely has her second set of molars now, possibly even the third. As a juvenile, it is typical that she is still dependent on milk; it is around 4 to 5 years old that elephants are weaned from their mothers.

She said that Khanyisa is on the path to being fully weaned, but to give her the very best start in life, they have been taking it slow.

“We’ve considered the seasons, preferring to wait for warmer weather and a lusher wilderness to supplement her diet. The bush has entered spring, but we will only see changes in a month or so, as the rains return and start to transform the bush.”

Roode says Khanyisa is receiving support from her adopted herd at HERD.

“Kumbura might still keep an eye on Khanyisa at the waterhole, but Meisiekind is a proficient swimmer now. When it comes to the trees, her trunk is still mastering its full potential, but big and strong it will one day be. For now, she has help from Sebakwe and the other elephants, as they bring down large branches from the trees for her to feed from. They help strip nourishing bark and uncover water sources and tasty bulbs and roots in the ground for her, by digging with their feet,” adds Roode.

“I believe that we have been able to help Khanyisa heal from her hard beginnings. Only positivity and kind-heartedness remain, an inspiring sense of courage and confidence. I am grateful to our supporters, who have followed her journey over the months, and the years, and helped us to help her. Happy birthday to our little juvenile, Meisiekind,” she concludes.