Where orphaned elephants find hope.
Rescue, Rehabilitate, Rewild
Welcome to Game Rangers International Elephant Orphanage
Quick facts:
Location: Lusaka National Park, Zambia
Facility type: Wildlife education centre and elephant orphanage
Opportunities: Visits, volunteer, internships
The Elephant Orphanage
The Elephant Orphanage rescues baby elephants that have lost their families, often due to poaching or conflict with humans.
They care for the elephants, helping them grow strong and eventually guide them back into the wild. This whole process can take up to 12 years, with many of the elephants suffering from extreme trauma and requiring round the clock care.
The project also works to protect the environment and educate local communities about wildlife. Their goal is to give these elephants a second chance at life in their natural habitat.
Visit the Elephant orphanage website.
Game Rangers International
The Elephant Orphanage is managed by Game Rangers International (GRI) - a conservation NGO operating in Zambia and focusing on three main areas:
Wildlife rescue: rescuing, rehabilitating, and releasing African elephants (such as with the elephant orphanage project!)
Resource protection: empowering the frontline rangers who protect wildlife from threats such as posting, while also protecting local communities and promoting human-wildlife coexistence.
Community outreach: educating, empowering, and engaging local communities to inspire the next generation to care for wildlife.
GRI work primarily in the areas surrounding National Parks where people come into contact with wildlife and we see high levels of human-wildlife conflict.
About the experience
The Elephant Orphanage is part of the Wildlife Discovery Centre, located in Lusaka National Park and was easily the highlight of my visit to Zambia.
You view the orphans from a raised platform during feeding time, meaning they don’t really see much of you and their feed is not disturbed. This is also helps avoid habituation to humans as the only people they come to trust are their primary caregivers. This system is constantly being reviewed and adjusting with the elephants welfare as the number 1 priority.
There’s no tricks or shows, you see their feeding and then just enjoy them exhibiting natural behaviours.
The discovery centre itself is an educational space to highlight the work of GRI bot with the wildlife of Zambia and with the community. It puts so much emphasis on community involvement and education, with a huge priority placed on getting local schools in to learn about wildlife.
How to Support
GRI
Follow GRI on Instagram for updates on their work and projects.
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Visiting the elephant orphanage is an amazing addition to your time in Zambia!
The National Park is quite accessible from Lusaka city. Once in the park, you'll make your way to the Discovery Centre where you can learn all about the work of GRI and the community and watch the feeding session at the elephant orphanage.The centre is open 7 days per week, 09:00 to 15:00, 365 days per year
Elephant viewing takes place daily at 11:45 to 13:00 each day
$15/adults, $5/child (<12yrs), <3 free
I recommend having your own car, or a driver for the day, as you do need to move through the National Park to access the visitor centre and orphanage. We were able to get a taxi to the park, but navigating around and getting home was much more complicated - luckily some of the staff were kind enough to give us a lift!
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GRI is open to volunteering and 3 month internship placements!
I cannot provide first hand information on the volunteering or internships, but you can enquire through their website:
Volunteer page -
Looking for a gift for the animal lover in your life? Animal adoptions will forever be one of my favourite things to both gift and receive!
You can virtually adopt one of the elephants at the orphanage from £40-150 here.
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You can donate to GRI to support their overall goals and projects here or through their Just Giving page.
