volunteer work with the elephants

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It is now 3,5 months that I work as a volunteer for the Knysna Elephant Park and not 1 day did I not like being here. We are setting up a volunteer program and that is proven to be a challenge but very rewarding. I love wildlife and by setting up this volunteer program I feel like I can give something back to the elephants. We have taken their habitat by claiming it ours, we have broken down their rituals by building fences on their migration route and we have taken their spirits by killing their family members. The 10 elephants that we have living here in a controlled-free-range-environment are 10 elephants rescued from being killed but what about the other 6000??????
The Kruger National Park has 6000 elephants to many and what will happen to them? There are 2 options: They will be shot in culling operations or they will be trans located. It is difficult to get my head around this but there are to many elephants?! I think that almost 90% of the people visiting South Africa have the elephant on their "to see list", strange that almost none of them realize that there are to many elephants. Did I know this when I left the Netherlands 8 months ago, no.
By setting up this volunteer program my life feels more meaningful and I am driven to make it work. Through the program we do not only educate the visitors of the park but we help the local people working here and a local underprivileged as well. We do not just offer a volunteer job, you being here as a volunteer really makes a difference.

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