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The father of Mana rises again
Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force (ZCTF)
November 28, 2008

Those of you who frequent Mana Pools may be familiar with Oliver, a large friendly bull elephant, known by the locals as the "Father of Mana". Oliver is to Mana Pools what Tusker was to Kariba - loved by everyone who has had the privilege of making his acquaintance.

A few weeks ago, we received a phone call from a distraught Yvonne Edwards of Chinoyi who had just returned from Mana Pools. She noticed a large, open, superating gash, about a foot long, in Oliver's front leg which was swollen to almost twice its normal size. He was obviously in pain because he was not able to put any weight on the injured leg and he was having difficulty foraging for food.

Oliver	Foraging on three legs

Thanks to those of you who assisted us with funds to purchase the tranquilizer, M99, it was possible to help Oliver.

Dr Chris Foggin went to Mana to assess the severity of Oliver's wound and initially decided against darting him because he was afraid that once the great elephant went down, he would not be able to get up again due to the pain in his leg. However, after further consideration, he decided that something would have to be done so he returned to Mana by air with Norman Monks of National Parks Mana Pools but they had to abort the attempt because of a severe storm.

Dr Foggin, his son Greg and Norman Monks went in again by road on the 15th November and managed to dart Oliver with M99. Once the tranquilizer started taking effect, the rescue team pushed against his body to try and make him go down in a sitting position, to ensure that he would be able to get up again.

Dr Foggin cleaned out the wound and administered a strong antibiotic and then the reversal drug was given. The team had to use all their strength to help Oliver back onto his feet again.

The wound	Back on his feet

It was an emotional moment when Oliver stood up, with some of the team shedding tears of joy. A triumphant cheer went up and the National Parks staff chanted "the Father of Mana Pools has risen!"

Thanks so much to Yvonne Edwards whose perseverance has possibly saved Oliver's life. Yvonne and her husband Neville assisted with the rescue mission and the photos were taken by Yvonne herself. Below this report is Yvonne's personal account of the rescue mission.

A very big thank you also to Dr Chris Foggin, his son Greg, Norman Monks, Felix and all the National Parks staff at Chinoyi, Mana Pools and Marongora who made such a huge effort to save this elephant.

Yvonne's Letter

This is a Non-profit appeal, all funds go directly towards saving Oliver and the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force without whom none of this would have been possible. For those of you who don't know the story of Oliver, He is one of Mana Pools' favourite elephants with a distinctive hole in his right ear and broken left tusk, he has become a firm friend to our family. He always passes through our camp with his gentle grace, it never fails to make our trips extra special seeing our friend and I'm sure he has also made many of your trips amazingly memorable.

So you can imagine how our hearts sank when we discovered on a recent trip 3 weeks ago that he was potentially fatally injured and had lost the full use of his front leg as he has a festering wound in his lower shoulder, with the heat, humidity, insects and rainy season moving in, phone lines down making communications difficult we have had to rely on the bush telegraph and so many good people to pull off the near impossible with so much working against us it has come as a remarkable surprise just what can be achieved by friends and the dedicated individuals. Almost all of us have had the privilege of having had an Elephant like Oliver and his two buddies Jimmy and Tony visit you in camp, wandering through sometimes a little close for comfort, occasionally leading to an undignified retreat, abandoned fishing rod or a spilt beer. Those moments that makes Mana simply magical. You will all know exactly why we are trying so hard to save our gentle friend.

Dr Chris Foggin and his son Greg have travelled to and from Mana, by car several times. A week later we returned and discovered he had been illusive and went in search and as usual he found us wondering into our camp almost telepathically knowing we would help, he hung around our camp for 2 days and nights. In a great last ditch attempt we had alerted the team. They tried flying in with Norman Monks on the 14th November only for them to have to turn back due to a terrible storm and then drive back in again, bad roads and fuel shortages all just a few of the things that get in the way. Finally everything came together the morning of the 15th and all fell into place he was darted and treated everyone helping to hold him up as he had sat on his haunches and if he remained that way we would all be able to help him up again, Chris worked his good juju and miracles of medicine going far and beyond the call of duty, a true hero. So Oliver has had his much needed treatment and is hopefully on the mend but he is far from out of the woods yet and he will continue to be monitored. As he woke from the M99 reversal drug with a huge push and more than just a little back breaking help from his friends, what a privilege, there were tears and cheers from everyone and all the Parks staff chanted "The Father of Mana Pools has Risen" as you can imagine it was all very emotional.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those involved in this incredible rescue mission inspired by Mark and Natasha Elmer in the UK, ex Zim, a big thank you to Felix at National Parks Chinhoyi, Norman Monks and all the National Parks staff at Mana pools, all National Parks staff at Marongora Dr Chris Foggin and his son Greg, Johnny and Cheryl Rodrigues, The Zimbabwe Conservation Trust, Dr Margie Peacock, Mr Nick Murray, and Hillary Ferreira, and to my dear husband Neville Edwards thanks for being so patient with me. To all of you who give a donation you will be placed in the raffle draw.

A heartfelt thank you because we can make a difference if we try, The money raised insures that all medicines used can be replaced and should any more be required there will be no delays Special thanks to my kids, Mark and Natasha Elmer for the Raffle Prize Donations. May god bless each and every one of you, Oliver's friends.

Yours Sincerely Yvonne Edwards

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