Nkala's Journey: Choosing His Own Path
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Blog by
Lysia Biemba
GRI- and HWC Research Assistant
Co-authored by Lisa Olivier
GRI-Conservation Behaviour Advisor
Every elephant's journey back to the wild is unique. While some make a relatively rapid transition once they leave the orphan herd, others build their independence more gradually. Nkala is reminding the team that there is no single path to becoming wild. Rather than following the route many expected, he is choosing his own pace.
Nkala's story began in 2013 when he was rescued at only three months old. He was deeply traumatised and physically vulnerable following his rescue.
He heavily relied on support from the other orphans during this time, particularly Kavala, who was important to his initial recovery – he even used to suck on her ear for comfort! His keepers devoted endless patience and care to help him recover, and over time his confidence gradually grew.
Nkala drinking milk Nkala sucking Kavala's ear Little Nkala surrounded by a very
tightly bonded nursery herd
Many supporters may remember first meeting Nkala during Paul O'Grady's visit to the Elephant Nursery in 2014, when he featured in Paul O'Grady's Animal Orphans. Paul often spoke fondly of him afterwards, helping introduce Nkala's story to viewers around the world.
Editor's Note: This photograph was taken in 2013. Since then, GRI has continually evolved its elephant welfare and rehabilitation practices in line with advances in science and international best practice. Some aspects shown in this historic image do not reflect our current welfare protocols.
In 2016, Nkala graduated from the Nursery to the Release Facility to continue his rehabilitation. Life at the Release Facility gave Nkala the opportunity to practice the skills every wild elephant needs including finding natural food, navigating the landscape, forming social relationships and, ultimately, making his own decisions. While several younger elephants progressed through the release process more quickly, Nkala continued to develop at his own pace.
By the end of 2025, the team began noticing subtle but promising changes in Nkala's behaviour. Nkala began spending longer periods away from the orphan herd, exploring and foraging on his own before returning. Over time, these periods of independence became more frequent, eventually leading to one of his most significant milestones yet.
In March 2026, having just turned 13, an age when increasing independence can naturally emerge in male elephants, Nkala began making one of the most significant transitions seen in his rehabilitation to date. For the first time, he chose to spend his nights outside the predator-proof boma enclosure, trading the security of the fence for the uncertainty and opportunity of the open bush. That decision marked Nkala's progression from a Stage 3 elephant within GRI's release monitoring framework to a Stage 4 elephant – an important milestone that reflected the growing confidence he was showing in making decisions for himself.
Stage 3 elephants spend their nights within the boma, while Stage 4 elephants begin choosing to remain outside overnight while still maintaining links with the orphan herd. Although elephants may move back and forth between stages during this gradual process, reaching Stage 4 represents an important step towards greater independence.
His daily rhythms also began to change. Where he once spent both morning walks and afternoons closely integrated with the herd, he increasingly chose to separate from the other orphans, spending long afternoons and nights foraging and exploring on his own before rejoining them the following morning. He also became less interested in spending time with the younger elephants during bush walks, a behaviour commonly observed as older males begin developing greater independence.
For the whole of GRI, this moment carries particular significance, as Nkala is beginning to make these increasingly independent decisions within the very landscape where he was first found as an orphaned calf over a decade ago. Local farmers recognized that the distressed three-month-old elephant needed help after having heard GRI's community radio programme about orphaned elephants. They alerted DNPW and GRI, giving Nkala the chance to begin the rehabilitation that has brought him back here today.
What makes Nkala's story particularly interesting is not simply that he is becoming more independent, but how he is choosing to do it.
Several of GRI's recent releases over the last few years have made relatively rapid transitions into the wild once they left the orphan herd. Some quickly established themselves elsewhere in the landscape, while others were not seen again for extended periods before eventually being located through post-release monitoring.
Rather than simply following the paths taken by elephants before him, Nkala appears to be making choices that suit him. Although opportunities have arisen to leave with released elephants, he has continued to explore independently, returning to the orphan herd when he chooses while becoming increasingly comfortable navigating the landscape around him. In some ways, this echoes the more gradual release patterns seen earlier in GRI's programme, yet his journey remains uniquely his own. Nkala has several options available to him, yet he continues to make his own choices about when to explore, when to return and how quickly to increase his independence.
Nkala's progress is a valuable reminder that there is no single pathway to becoming wild. Rehabilitation is not about encouraging elephants to follow a script. It is about equipping them with the skills, confidence and opportunity to make their own decisions. Some elephants move quickly. Others take their time. What matters is that those choices become their own.
We hope that as released elephants continue to visit and interact with the orphan herd, they will help provide social opportunities and guidance for elephants like Nkala as they navigate this next stage of life.
Whether Nkala takes the next step towards full independence tomorrow or months from now remains to be seen. What is already clear is that he is approaching this transition in his own way.
We will continue to monitor Nkala closely, supporting him while giving him the space to make those decisions for himself. Watching him spend increasing amounts of time exploring the landscape on his own terms is a powerful reminder of just how far he has come, and we look forward to seeing what comes next.
Comments