South Africa Completes Giant Job of Elephant Translocation

KRUGER NATIONAL PARK, South Africa, September 5, 2003 (ENS) - Today South Africa accomplished the translocation of some 40 elephants from the Kruger National Park to Mozambique’s Limpopo National Park as part of the effort to create Africa’s biggest animal kingdom. Although 40 is a good estimate, parks officials said, the exact number of elephants translocated may vary slightly as family groups rather than individuals were moved.

Four family groups were moved from the Far North region of Kruger National Park to a fenced off and secure 35,000 hectare sanctuary in the Limpopo National Park. The elephants that were translocated have been fitted with radio collars so that their movements can be tracked in their new home.

The translocation is an important component of the development process of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, a joint initiative between Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Envisioned as a world class ecotourism destination, the transfrontier park is being developed with extensive private sector involvement, but officials say it will be managed to optimize benefits for sustainable economic development of local communities as well as biodiversity conservation.

These most recent translocations began on September 1 and ended today. Thursday's translocation operation was witnessed by the media, VIPs and stakeholders in the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park initiative.

Officially handing over the elephants to Mozambican officials Thursday morning, the Deputy Director-General in the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Pamela Yako, said that this translocation was another attempt by South Africa to show its commitment to the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park initiative, which will eventually see the creation of the world's largest conservation area.

South African elephants are released into Limpopo National Park on July 10, 2003. (Photo by Raymond Travers courtesy South African National Parks)

The translocation of animals started on October 4, 2001 when the South African government with its implementing agency, South African National Parks (SANParks), handed over the first 25 elephants to the Mozambican Minister of Tourism, Fernando Sumbana. SANParks, as the implementing agent, provides all the professional and logistical support to the project.

The Peace Parks Foundation is funding the three year elephant translocation project, as well as the future translocation of other wild animals.

To launch its 10 year commitment to the Peace Parks project, the Absa financial services group, sponsored Thursday's translocation. Absa's overall contribution to the project involves an amount of $1 million over a period of 10 years.

Absa Group Chief Executive Nallie Bosman said Thursday, "As a truly South African financial services group our involvement in sponsoring the translocation of today's elephants underscores Absa's commitment to preserve our continent's proud heritage. We do business in many neighboring countries and we view our involvement in the translocation as a gesture of our sincerity in giving back to the communities we serve.

"The African elephant is a symbol of strength, intelligence, endurance and caring," said Bosman. "These are also the personality traits of a truly responsible corporate citizen that views the preservation of our natural assets as paramount for future generations."

According to the Chief Executive of SANParks, Mavuso Msimang, the elephants were all caught in areas where there are presently too many, and which are sensitive to degredation of the plant life caused by these enormous herbavores.

Mavuso Msimang is chief executive of South African National Parks (Photo courtesy IUCN)

It is also desirable to find groups with an adult cow, a few sub-adult males and juveniles rather than fully grown bulls as bull elephants are difficult to translocate and tend to wander. They have often returned to their place of capture. The guidelines for re-introduction of wildlife outlined by the IUCN- World Conservation Union are strictly adhered to in these translocations, Msimang said.

Elephants seen outside the 35,000 hectare sanctuary but within the million hectare Limpopo National Park will also be caught, have radio collars put on them and put back inside the sanctuary.

The sanctuary has been created within the LNP in order to allow the relocation of animals into the park, while at the same time allowing a comprehensive community participation process to be undertaken without the risk of human-animal conflict.

This year's elephant translocation will be the last into the sanctuary itself, as the population will now have reached the limit determined by the estimated carrying capacity of the area.

The wildlife sanctuary will improve visitor expectations and be used as a training area for game rangers of the Limpopo National Park, South African parks officials said.