Limpopo was the first elephant born to the rescued Jabulani herd. She came into the world on 19 August 2006, making Matriarch Tokwe the first to be a mother among the elephants. Three years later, on 29 August 2009, Mambo arrived, gracing mother Lundi with her first offspring. Klaserie and Zindoga were already on the scene, having been born in February and October 2007 respectively. Mambo and Zindoga became close friends as the only two young bulls, but Limpopo, as the older sister, and a very confident and friendly elephant, became close to both bulls too. Setombe and Klaserie were much more joined at the hip as mother and daughter, with Klaserie often preferring to be with her mom than with those her age. Limpopo certainly formed a close bond with Mambo as she could handle his challenges and sparring games. The two have continued their shenanigans ever since, with each new adventure in their wilderness.

This August, we celebrate these two elephants’ births and remember their journey to adolescence. Mambo turns 13, while Limpopo is now sweet 16. As a bull, Mambo is certainly becoming more and more independent, choosing to roam and forage alone or away from the females. Of course his mother Lundi likes to keep a close eye on him and frequently follows him when out in the bush. This causes Lundi to walk vast distances and often faster than little Khanyisa would like. As Lundi’s adopted daughter, albino orphan Khanyisa likes to keep her mother close. But she often can’t keep up and will stay with an allomother instead. When they are together, allomother Kumbura is choosing to stay close to Khanyisa with Lundi and Mambo. But we know Mambo would prefer his alone time, rather than having a little calf hanging around.

Limpopo is also very independent, as a Matriarch’s daughter, but as a cow, she still stays close to the females in the herd. She plays a role as allomother to Khanyisa too, helping to protect and watch over the youngest, most vulnerable elephant in the herd. Limpopo is always curious and loves attention, but like Klaserie, she is often overzealous when it comes to caring for a calf. She still needs to perfect her nurturing skills, but she is getting excellent practice now with Khanyisa. This is vital for her and the social development of the elephants, helping them to grow and gain new skills and experience.

Watch these videos below for more insight into these two elephants as we celebrate them in their birth month!

Wishing Limpopo Happy Sweet 16!

Wishing Mambo a Happy 13th Birthday!

How To Identify Limpopo

How To Identify Mambo

Get to know the herd here and come and watch them at the waterhole for yourself on safari at Jabulani. You can also foster Mambo or Limpopo, or another elephant in the herd.

Your fostering helps HERD Trust to provide for your foster elephant’s needs! This includes an essential and sizable team of dedicated elephant carers who care for, support and protect the herd day and night. During the day, the carers walk with the herd through the bush for 12 hours, enabling them to roam, forage, swim, sand bathe and play in the wilderness, while at night the homestead provides safe shelter with the carers’ accommodation alongside the elephants. The HERD team see to the cleaning of the homestead, land management, dam maintenance, and so much extra work behind the scenes.

Funding goes toward providing the elephants with safe shelter, medical support and dietary supplementation. You can foster an elephant for yourself or as a gift for a loved one, giving them the joy of supporting an elephant and the world of elephant conservation. FOSTER HERE >