OPERATIONS to repopulate Angola’s Kissama National Park are on track with plans to restock the area with wildlife moving on to the next phase.
The programme, which has been dubbed Operation Noah’s Ark, was launched by the Kissama Foundation and the Angolan government in 2001 to rehabilitate the park after clashes between Angolan government troops and the main opposition party resulted in thousands of animals being killed during the 21-year war.
Elephant and other species of game, including giraffe, zebra, and wildebeest, have been transferred from wildlife reserves in Namibia, South Africa and Botswana to a restricted area within Kissama. “Since the inception of the restocking programme, animal populations have grown considerably. The park now plans to release the animals into a larger area as well as bring in new animals and a few new species,” says Prof. Wouter van Hoven of the University of Pretoria.
The park also intends to upgrade their booking facilities to assist tourists visiting Kissama, helping promote tourism in the area.
