Elephant Havens
Maun, North-West District, Botswana
About
The only elephant orphanage in Botswana, beside the Gomoti River on the fringe of the Okavango Delta, where orphaned calves are raised until they can go back to the wild.
Visiting
Open to visitors
- How to visit
- Hour-long public tours run every day at 9am and 4pm sharp; come early to fill in forms. Each visitor pays by donation. Longer and private tours can be arranged, and donors can book ahead to sleep over in one of the orphanage's four tents. For visits, call +267 76 367 532 or +267 73 809 428.
- Getting there
- Fly to Maun International Airport, then continue by road or helicopter. Drivers follow the Sir Seretse Khama road and the signposts; the trip from Maun takes about 1.5–2 hours.
- Booking
- Book only through the sanctuary’s official website. Never pay through social media messages or resellers. Book on their website ↗
Residents
Meet the elephants
MmaMotse
A local person reported MmaMotse when she was starving, and in December 2018 she became the orphanage's very first rescue. Named after the Setswana word for haven, she now leads the herd as a matriarch.
Resident since 2018
Tsholofelo
During a drought Tsholofelo was found alone and badly underweight on an island near Eretsha. He put on more than 100 lb within a month of arriving. His name is Setswana for hope.
Resident since 2019
Tshepiso
Before they caught Tshepiso after a lengthy search, staff came across the bodies of her mother and of a young elephant close by. She has grown into one of the herd's matriarchs.
Resident since 2019
Bonolo
Bonolo's mother was probably poached. After local people reported the calf, staff followed her for a whole day before the rescue. She has only one tusk, and was born that way. Unique from the start, she has grown up safe and loved at the orphanage.
Resident since 2019
Our research
How it measures up
- No buying or selling animals for profitMeets
- No breeding for tourism or tradeMeets
- No chaining or confinementMeets
- No ridingMeets
- No shows or performancesMeets
- No bathing with visitorsMeets
- Observation-based visitsDoesn’t meet
Visitors can interact with young elephants, learn about elephant behavior from their experienced handlers, and take pictures with baby elephants.
- Rescue, rehabilitation and release where possibleMeets
Orphans spend time in a soft-release area before being freed together as a herd. No release has been announced yet.
- Donations fund animal careMeets
Over 90% of donations are spent on the elephants in Botswana, and nobody at the Foundation draws a salary.
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