Harry on mission to save 500 elephants

PRINCE Harry is to spend the rest of the summer working on a project transferring 500 tranquilised elephants hundreds of miles to save them from poachers.

He will join the “500 elephants” initiative in Malawi, one of the largest and most significant elephant relocations in conservation history.

The project works by firing tranquilising darts at the animals from helicopter and then transporting them by truck and crane to a wildlife reserve in the centre of the country. With their ears flipped over their eyes to block out the light and their trunks kept open to make sure they can breathe, the elephants are loaded on to vehicles to take them from the south of the country to their new sanctuary home.

The Prince, who left the Army last summer after 10 years as an officer, is in Africa at present and is expected to remain on the continent for a number of weeks.

Kensington Palace said in a statement: “The elephants are being moved to reduce pressure on the habitat and alleviate human wildlife conflict while helping to repopulate the local herd in their new home. In the future, the reserve may also help restore elephant populations in other parts of Africa, where numbers have significantly declined due to poaching.”

The Prince was in South Africa last week attending an Aids conference in Durban and sharing a platform with Sir Elton John.

He also made a private visit to Lesotho to check on his charity Sentebale, which is based in the country.