Elephants are known for their migrations, which consist of long marches over savannahs and deserts performed purely by memory. Still, the voyage for 13 captive elephants in Kent will be much different.

That's because their journey will be one-way and by plane, and it will be the first of its kind-a rewilding initiative aimed at transporting all 25 tons of pachyderm back to their original habitat of Kenya via flight.

Big-Time Collaboration

Such a task necessitates the use of seasoned brains, but the team behind the massive effort is among the greatest in the world. The Aspinall Foundation, specializing in wild animal translocation, collaborates with the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and the Kenyan Wildlife Service.

The Aspinall Foundation guarantees that every exotic species reproducing and living in safety at Howletts' Wild Animal Park in Kent, near Canterbury, produces the income required for them or their descendants to be released into the wild.

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Back to the Wild Initiative

Their 'Back to the Wild' initiative has already seen many animals born in Kent parks return to their native environments. Western lowland gorillas, black rhinos, Javan langurs and gibbons, European bison, and clouded leopards are now not only prospering but also effectively reproducing in the wild.

For almost 50 years, the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya has been conserving wild elephants, rescuing wounded ones, nursing them back to health, and returning them into Kenya's wilds.

"We at the Aspinall Foundation have decided on an extraordinary initiative and a true world first after years of considering the advantages and risks," she added. "This is the first time an elephant breeding herd has been rewilded."

Elephants in Captivity

"Elephants don't do well in captivity," said Damian Aspinall, the foundation's founder, on BBC Radio Kent. There aren't many of them. Females live roughly half as long as men. Obesity affects more than half of elephants kept in captivity. They have difficulties with their feet, skin, and mental health."

"I think we would have done something good in the world if we can achieve this," he added. "Once they get out there, they are going to be so happy, wandering about, meeting other wild elephants, breeding."

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Rewilding Elephants

The 13 elephants include three calves, which lent the idea of naming the specially-designed 747 in which they will travel the "Dumbo" jet.

Angela Sheldrick, CEO of the Sheldrick Trust, said: "Since the 1970s, we have been helping elephants. Providing a wild future to more than 260 rescued orphans and operating extensive protection projects to ensure they, their wild-born babies, and their wild kin are best protected throughout their lives."

"When these 13 elephants step foot on African land, home where they belong and allowed to live wild and free as nature intended, we look forward to providing them with the same opportunity."

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