The team from Elephants Without Borders took to the air by helicopter to find our African elephants. They named them Kgosi, Letsatsi and Mma Khama. All three were collared in northern Botswana, but they’re unlikely to know each other. By choosing elephants in different areas, Dr Chase hopes to be able to follow three very different stories.

Mma Khama was the second elephant to be collared by Dr Chase’s team for the love earth website.

At a glance
Mma Khama (pronounced ‘Ma Ka-ma’) is the leader of her herd, known as the matriarch. She’s probably in her early 40s and is named after the very first First Lady of Botswana. Mma Khama stands 2.68m from her front foot to her shoulder, and has one tusk longer than the other at 76cm and 45cm. Excitingly, Mma Khama was found to be heavily pregnant!

How was she collared?
Mma Khama and her herd were spotted from the helicopter on 21 July 2007, on the banks of the Gomoti river, in the Okavango Delta. The herd consisted of eight cows and four calves, but Mma Khama was easy to differentiate as she was large and clearly in charge.

Although the vet’s first tranquilizer dart was on target, it had no effect on Mma Khama. Another dose was needed, and when it finally took effect she gently sat down with her family herd around her for support. They reluctantly moved off as the air and ground crews moved in.

'Much to the team’s surprise, Mma Khama was heavily pregnant and already producing milk!' – Kelly Landen

The team pushed the matriarch onto her side to take the weight off her chest and legs, poured water behind her ear to keep her cool, then quickly collared and measured her. She was in perfect health, and already producing milk. There could be the patter of not-so-tiny feet quite soon!

Within two minutes of having the antidote, Mma Khama stood up, and soon rejoined her herd. The other elephants greeted her and examined the collar, before following Mma Khama as she marched back into the Delta.

What happened next?
In the week after she was collared, Mma Khama and her family spent their time in a wildlife management area in which no hunting is allowed. She then crossed the Gomoti river, and moved 13km into the Moremi Game Reserve, another protected area.

Feeding on the lush flood-plain grasses which are submerged with water, the herd will have been in no rush to move on. The water flows from Angola, taking almost four months to reach the southern edges of the Okavango Delta – the world’s largest inland wetland.