Young elephants explore elephant valley at Beekse Bergen for the first time

The three young elephants at Beekse Bergen have explored the Elephant Valley for the first time. This large habitat is completely new to the calves; previously they stayed in an adjacent stay.

There was a lot to discover in their new environment, says head zookeeper Yvonne Vogels. "The herd behaved in a natural way, the youngsters stayed nicely in the middle of the group and stayed together constantly. Later, the calves became more enterprising and walked a little further away from their mothers. Really wonderful to see how they behaved!"

New area

Since the announcement of the gestation of the three elephants in early 2023, hard work has been done to expand the elephant enclosure. The stay has been expanded by 2 acres to properly accommodate the entire herd, including the calves.

There are also many elements in the stay that are new to the elephants. For example, there are several barriers in the perk so they cannot always see each other and can hide from each other. There is a shallow clay pool where they can roll in the mud and there is a large water hole. The valley is also a lot hillier, allowing the elephants to explore different heights.

Three young elephants

A short time ago, three African elephants were born in four months: Mosi, Ajabu & Tendai. The calves are doing very well. All have already reached over 150 pounds in weight.

A few weeks ago, they also met their father Yambo for the first time. The cubs and the rest of the herd immediately bonded well together. Birds: "The little elephants are constantly playing together and are very curious. They are also enthusiastically discovering this new stay together."

New area

The new Elephant Valley is one of several stays that house Beekse Bergen's entire elephant herd. A total of eleven African elephants live in the Safaripark. In addition to elephants, Nile lechwe and Defassa waterbucks have recently started using the valley.

In recent years, the entire area around the valley has been renovated, with a revamped rhino plains in 2022, the Elephant Valley last year and the renovated Africa Village opening later this year.

Northern Corridors Project

With the expansion of the herd in Safaripark Beekse Bergen is also drawing attention to African elephants in the wild. For example, together with Stichting Wildlife, the park supports Save the Elephants' Northern Corridors Project. This project connects nature parks in Kenya by creating corridors: safe passages for wild animals, such as elephants.

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