Parcels of toys and books, pallets of consumer electronics, plane loads and shipping containers with machine or car parts – all of this is what people associate with DHL Group, the world’s leading logistics provider. However, DHL also repeatedly receives orders that are out of character. Here are the company’s five most unusual deliveries in 2024.
- DHL presents its five most unusual transports in 2024
- From a chimpanzee with paralysis to famous James Bond props and a mobile heart clinic
From Kenya to Great Britain – Chimpanzee “Chocolat” with paralysis finds a new home
An animal with a moving life story: In August 2024, DHL transported the partially paralyzed female chimpanzee Chocolat from Kenya to Dorset, Great Britain, where “Monkey World” operates a rescue center for monkeys. Chocolat survived the illegal bushmeat trade in the Republic of Congo and was rescued as an infant in 2001. Poachers had killed her mother and Chocolat was injured by shotgun pellets. Since then she has been paralyzed in one hand and one foot. Her original rescuer had taken care of her in Kenya for twenty years. In 2024, however, Chocolat needed a place in a specialized facility that could offer her the best possible care. Chocolat’s move was a top priority for DHL. The trip began with a flight from Nairobi to the UK’s East Midlands Airport. We then continued overland to Dorset. A custom-made box ensured Chocolat’s safety and was filled with fruit and sweet potatoes. Animal experts accompanied the chimpanzee throughout the journey and ensured that she arrived safely. In her new home, she met six other chimpanzees – a family unlike any Chocolat had known since her time in the wild.
License to deliver – famous James Bond props travel from the Czech Republic to Austria
In August 2024, DHL transported more than 130 iconic props from the world of James Bond from the Prague “Bond in Motion” exhibition to the “007 Action” event in Vienna, 330 km away. The exhibits included 27 cars, eight motorcycles, costumes, parachutes – and even James Bond’s driver’s license. A highlight was the Aston Martin DB5, one of the most famous cars in film history, which played a role in eight Bond films – from “Goldfinger” (1964) to “No Time to Die” (2021). DHL also transported the eight-meter-long snowmobile that James Bond used in a breakneck chase through an ice landscape in “Die Another Day.” The helicopter that Bond destroyed in “Spectre” was also there. DHL used 22 trucks, including special car transporters with hydraulic lifts.
Record relocation – 163 vultures overland through South Africa
An animal protection campaign breaks records: 163 Cape and white-backed vultures moved from a reserve near Pretoria to the “Shamwari” game reserve in the Eastern Cape of South Africa in January 2024. This meant that the birds, which were threatened with extinction, found themselves in a safe environment where they could breed and exist undisturbed. The transport of more than 1,000 kilometers was supported by non-profit organizations and was the largest vulture relocation ever. DHL deployed two 34-ton trucks and five support and security vehicles and ensured that the 18-hour journey was as stress-free as possible for the rare birds. 50 volunteers helped and loaded all the vultures onto the vehicles within three hours. The initiative is part of a broader project to restore African vulture populations.
Symphony of logistics – how the instruments of the London Philharmonic Orchestra came to Japan
The London Philharmonic Orchestra’s tour of Japan in September 2024 was not only a major music event, but also a demanding logistics project. DHL transported around 60 valuable instruments, including double basses, cellos, timpani and a harp, from the UK to the Hamamatsu Act City Concert Hall in Japan. The delivery over approximately 9,500 kilometers by air and land required meticulous planning. DHL had to keep the temperature between 17 and 21 degrees Celsius throughout so that the wooden instruments did not warp or crack. Special transport boxes were designed to absorb shocks and vibrations. Despite a tight schedule, all instruments arrived on time and in perfect condition. The tour started in Hamamatsu, then continued to Nagoya and Osaka and ended in Tokyo.
Eleven containers full of hope – transporting a mobile heart clinic from Germany to El Salvador
Deliver an entire hospital? Yes, that works too. In February 2024, DHL sent the world’s first mobile heart clinic on a journey across oceans – from Bremen to Zacamil in El Salvador. The clinic was developed by the aid organization Kinderherzen. The mobile hospital enables life-saving surgical procedures for children with congenital heart defects in regions of the world where specialized facilities are lacking. The transport included eleven containers by sea and land. After two weeks of setting up the clinic, heart surgeons from different countries began treating the young patients free of charge. The clinic remained in El Salvador until May 2024, after which DHL transported it to Burundi in East Africa.
You can find the press release as well as a selection of photos and videos for download at group.dhl.com/presse
DHL – The logistics company for the world
DHL is the world’s leading brand in logistics. With our DHL divisions, we offer a unique logistics portfolio – from national and international parcel delivery to transport and fulfillment solutions in e-commerce, international express shipping as well as road, air and sea freight transport to supply chain management. With around 395,000 employees in over 220 countries and territories worldwide, DHL securely and reliably connects people and companies, enabling global sustainable trade. With a unique presence in developing and emerging countries and specialized solutions for growth sectors such as “Technology”, “Life Sciences & Healthcare”, “Engineering, Manufacturing & Energy”, “Auto-Mobility”, and “Retail”, DHL is “The logistics company for the world”.
DHL is part of the DHL Group. The group achieved sales of more than 81.8 billion euros in 2023. With sustainable actions and commitment to society and the environment, the group makes a positive contribution to the world. DHL Group aims to achieve net zero emissions logistics by 2050.