‘If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.’
Liberty Nyaguse is a dedicated wildlife conservationist and community advocate with over 20 years of experience. His work spans wildlife tourism, elephant welfare, and community upliftment. He has served as a consultant, business development manager, national elephant manager, ecologist, and marketing specialist. At EleCREW, Liberty combines his scientific background with business skills to find practical solutions that support both people and wildlife. His goal is to help position Zimbabwe as a global leader in elephant conservation. He believes education is key to protecting these iconic animals. When not working, Liberty enjoys exploring nature and staying active through sport. He is passionate about creating a sustainable future for elephants and the communities that share their world.
Klaus has been working with elephants for just over 4 years, working your way up from a stable hand. He, like all the other handlers here at Jafuta has expanded his knowledge through doing our workshop in Cooperative Teaching. Kluas’s thoughtful nature also make him an excellent elephant interpreter and presenter.
Heritage has been with the herd since 2005, when he came in as a banna grass (elephant grass or napier grass – the elephants love this stuff!) attendant. Cooperative teaching has equipped him with knowledge to observe how smart an elephant can be and discover hidden behaviours. Handling and teaching keep elephants calm. Heritage is well loved and well respected by all the elephants and carers alike.
Crosper came to work with the members of the ambassador herd in the tourism operation they belonged to before in 2015. He has noticed that since we retrained, and have been handling the elephants differently, now most of the elephants are calm.
‘The thing I like most like about working elephants was that these elephants were orphaned, coming from different places and we can give them a good quality of life. Our elephants can’t face the situation that wild elephants are facing, especially from poaching and poisonings from cyanide.’
Peter has been with the herd since 2012. Before this Peter had gained a huge amount of bush knowledge working as a tracker for wildlife veterinarians operating in the bush and even as a Lion carer. Spend some time with Peter and you will discover things about the bush that only a lifetime experience can tell you.
‘I like the way they behave when feeding in the wild. There are all now part of my family we are bound together.’
Bongani has been with the herd since 2021, although he had experience as an elephant carer he came in as a stable hand and worked his way up, learning new techniques as he progressed. He says that cooperative teaching has introduced him to basic knowledge of elephants and that handling and teaching help him build bonds with the elephants.
‘All elephants are my favourite since they remind me of my family.’
Harrison has been with the herd since 2021 when he came in as an elephant carer having had experience working with elephants in human care elsewhere. He learnt cooperative teaching at elephantCREW which has taught him how to work better with elephants. He says that handling and teaching creates confidence in the elephant and carer creating a bond between the two.
‘I like all elephants because they all respond positively to the teaching.’
Mishek started working with the elephantCREW ambassador herd at the same time that they arrived at their new home in Jafuta. he says that he likes to work with elephants to become friendly with them and protect them. He has learnt how to better approach people from learning how to approach elephants and he likes that elephants like you to greet you in a calm way.
‘When you are working with an elephant you must learn more things about the elephants, about how they see the world and their welfare.’
Adrian joined this herd as a stable hand in 2021 and has been with them ever since. He comes from a community that borders the Jafuta reserve and often has problems of wild elephants crop raiding his relatives feilds. The cooperative teaching training has greatly aided him in overcoming his fear of elephants. He has noticed that handling and training the elephant generates mutual respect and confidence in both the carer and the elephant, resulting in a positive relationship between the two.
‘I treat all elephants the same because they have a lot in common with humans, including intelligence.’
Macben has been with the herd since 2021, when he first joined the herd as a stable hand. He learned how to handle and teach elephants as part of a cooperative teaching course. He says that a carer’s understanding of an elephant’s well-being can be improved by handling and teaching.
‘I enjoy them all. Because I live with all of them, it’s impossible for me to select.’
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