1,000km trip brings 16 elephants to new homes in Eastern Cape

Two families of elephants were driven more than 1,000km across the country and swung into their new homes in the Eastern Cape last week following a successful relocation by Elephants, Rhinos & People (ERP).

The two family groups – 16 elephants in all – can now call the breathtaking plains and mountains of the Eastern Cape their home.

The reintroduction to the Mount Camdeboo Private Game Reserve near Graaff-Reinet and the Buffalo Kloof Private Game Reserve just outside Makhanda on Wednesday forms part of “The Great Karoo Elephant Migration”, a programme which aims to repopulate elephants in their former range and to restore ecosystems in the Karoo.

The two family units were transported from the Atherstone Nature Reserve, Limpopo Province, a 23-hour journey.

Atherstone had been struggling with an overpopulation of elephants for quite some time, resulting in its vegetation being adversely affected to the point where all its wildlife was suffering.

Without ERP’s intervention, these elephants might have had to be culled.

The elephants were captured and loaded at Atherstone early on Tuesday morning.

Once safely aboard the customised trucks they underwent 1,100km of non-stop driving, and were ultimately welcomed by the staff at Mount Camdeboo and Buffalo Kloof.

Mount Camdeboo received a family unit of six elephants, while Buffalo Kloof added 10 to its elephant population.

“These two introductions are the result of months of painstaking logistical preparation by our staff, covering activities including site visits, permit applications and detailed planning to manage capture, transport, release and associated logistics,” ERP said.

Elephants in the Eastern Cape were practically wiped out during the colonial era.

Thousands were hunted for their tusks over 250 years.

Subsequent hunting by farmers resulted in just 16 remaining in the Addo region.

With time and protection, natural population growth in the region began to increase.

But what really began to improve the situation was reintroduction efforts, ERP said.

Since natural migration was no longer possible in a landscape divided by fences, roads and cities, ERP took on elephant translocations.

It is reintroducing elephants into their former range, establishing viable breeding populations and eliminating the need for culling in overpopulated reserves in other parts of South Africa.

“We are thankful to both Mount Camdeboo and Buffalo Kloof for their commitment to ensuring the continued safety of these elephants and for providing them with breathtaking safe havens in the Eastern Cape,” ERP said.