Thirty elephants were moved from the iSimangaliso Wetland Park to the Zinave National Park, Mozambique, in the biggest single translocation effort from iSimangaliso.
This elephants were given to the Park as part of an attempt to assist Zinuve – co-managed by the Peace Parks Foundation (PPF) and Mozambique’s National Administration of Conservation Areas (ANAC) – in rewilding the 408 000-hectares protected area.
The area, situated near Vilankulos, has, until recently, been left largely devoid of wildlife following the civil war that raged through the country. Over the past two years, the PPF has introduced over 1 200 animals into the park, a positive step towards the regeneration of conservation in the area. PPF’s Project Manager in Zinave, Bernard van Lente, said: “Zinave offers prime elephant habitat, more than sufficient water resources, and only a handful of local elephants – positioning the uMkhuze elephants, along with 24 donated by the Ithala Game Reserve, to proliferate as the progenitors of a thriving new elephant population.”
Van Lente continues: “The elephants were initially released into an electrically-fenced 18 600-hectare sanctuary. This will allow them to settle into their new environment and be introduced to the family herd that has been resident in the sanctuary for the past year. The Park’s protection capabilities were also recently reinforced with 26 new rangers, ranger base camps, patrol equipment and digital communication systems – all as part of advanced and integrated anti-poaching strategies.”
The elephants were captured and moved in a highly-sensitive process, which took into account the strong familial bonds between them – ensuring that the entire unit was captured together. Tracking collars were fitted to the matriarchs, with regular in-field monitoring which allowed the familial unites to be identified and captured with relative ease.
Once moved into crates, the elephants were given immobilising drugs as well as strong tranqullisers to ensure that they were calm during the trip. A 1 200km drive from uMkhuze to Zinave, via eSwatini (Swaziland), was broken by regular checks on the animals to ensure their health and comfort during the trip. Upon arrival they were immediately released into secure bomas, where they were left to explore and discover their new terrain in their own time.
