Elephant at Kinshasa Zoo

"Kwanza," Swahili for "gift" was one of a pair of elephants that in the '90's the Zairian government captured at Garamba Park, and flew to Kinshasa for the zoo. The female of the pair died shortly after arrival, and only the young male was left. Without any thought for long term management, the project was doomed to failure. From Grains of Golden Sand:

"Wandering about the zoo grounds for days like a gray ghost, the elephant was herded with branches like a wayward milk cow. When Kwanza became obnoxious, the keepers chucked rocks to keep him away from the public. Desperately hungry for the food that lay beyond his reach, he knocked down the Ugandan kob and sitatunga paddock walls, releasing the animals onto the zoo grounds. Not one fence they had could retain him. At seven one morning, Kwanza rushed the main gate and escaped. The young bull elephant bolted down KasaVubu Avenue, pursuing the fruit-selling mamans that fled before him. The pachyderm was too famished to bother the women; he was after their wares. The vet lured him back into the zoo with bread, and the affronted market women were paid off."

Photo by D. Messinger