Chodoba was a young elephant calf when he was found weak and alone – it's likely his mother was killed by ivory poachers or had been involved in a conflict with humans.

Luckily he was spotted and taken to the safety of the Elephant Orphanage Project's nursery and release facility at Kafue National Park, Zambia, and cared for round the clock.

Today he is a healthy nine year old nearing maturity. He now ventures out alone into the park's grasslands and forests to feed and interact with wild elephants ready for his release back into the wild. Researchers fitted Chodoba with a GPS collar in March this year so they can track where he goes and what he eats – important for keeping an eye on his eventual integration into wild elephant society.

March was the wet season, so over at the park's nursery it was the perfect time for three and a half year old bull elephant called Mosi-oa-Tunya, to finally be weaned off bottle-feeds. Mosi-oa-Tunya and seven other orphaned juvenile elephants are starting to enjoy the surrounding lush foliage and grass that they encounter on their twice daily walks around the park, accompanied by keepers and trained scouts.

Rescued orphans are rehabilitated with the aim to release them into an immediate zone patrolled by anti-poaching rangers from Game Rangers International, who also train-up scouts from local village communities to protect their elephant neighbours.

Colchester Zoo's Action for the Wild charity is this month donating £5,000 to the Elephant Orphanage Project towards veterinary care and food for the orphaned elephants. Action for the Wild has already donated £20,000 since it began supporting the project in 2010.

Survival prospects are low for a young elephant without the care of its mother, so it is important for young elephants like Chodoba and Mosi-oa-Tunya to have the safety of the orphanage to learn to be wild again.

Kindly written by Sarah Jones Beer