The Journal
The Presidential Elephants: Five Generations, One Family
My father founded the Presidential Elephants programme. Here's what that means, and why it shapes every ZimTravellers itinerary.
My father, Alan Elliott, founded the Presidential Elephants of Zimbabwe programme in 1990. He persuaded the late President Mugabe to grant a herd of elephants in the Hwange Estate the formal status of presidential: protected, named, and individually monitored, by name, year after year.
The herd numbers around 400 today. Each animal carries a name and a known matriline. They live on private and government land east of Hwange National Park. They are the most studied and longest-tracked individual elephants in southern Africa.
Why this matters to a guest
Most safari operators in Zimbabwe sell access: a vehicle, a guide, a drive. We were raised inside the conservation work. The guides we hand-pick know the matrilines. They know which calf belongs to which mother, which bull is making his appearance and where, and what year a particular elephant lost an ear or scarred a flank.
That depth shows on the ground. A drive in Hwange with a ZimTravellers-vetted guide is not a sequence of identifications; it is a thread of stories about animals he has known for fifteen years. That is unrepeatable on a brochured operator’s vehicle. It is the difference between watching elephants and being introduced to them.
What we do with it
A fixed share of every ZimTravellers booking goes to Zimbabwean conservation. The work the family started is now carried by other organisations: Painted Dog Conservation, the Bhejane Trust, and the Presidential Elephants legacy fund. We don’t fundraise on the country’s suffering; the animals are not a tear-jerk. The work stands on its own.
If you want to see them
The Hwange itineraries we build all spend time on the eastern side of the estate, where the Presidential Elephants range. Walking with elephants on the open plains where they feed is one of the best safari experiences in the country.
For a fly-in option that lands you in the right part of Hwange: our fly-in safaris.
For a multi-day Hwange-anchored journey: Elephants and the Victoria Falls.
Plan a journey to meet the herd.
Josh
