KwaZulu-Natal conservation body, Ezemvelo, says they will relocate an estimated 69 elephants in the Pongolo Nature Reserve in the north of the Province to another protected area inside or outside South Africa.
This comes after suspected poachers shot at tourists during a boat ride on the Pongolapoort Dam last week.
Ezemvelo says elephants from the privately owned Pongola Game Reserve East on the shores of the dam, crossed a dried-up river into the Pongolo Nature Reserve in 2016.
According to Ezemvelo, there have been five poaching incidents in the past six months in which six elephants were killed after the animals came into conflict with local communities.
Ezemvelo spokesperson Musa Mntambo says the aim is to relocate the first batch of elephants in March or April.
“Ezemvelo acting CEO Sihle Mkhize has noted that elephants are a big problem not only in KZN but in South Africa as a whole. We no longer have sufficient land to keep them. The sooner the land issue for elephants is addressed, the better, as they are also animals that cause many human-wildlife conflicts. I also appeal to protected areas with extra space for elephants to contact us. We will donate the elephants,” says Mntambo.
Mntambo adds that two non-governmental organisations, Conservation Solutions and the Aspinall Foundation, have agreed to provide the funds and help Ezemvelo to relocate the elephants.
He elaborates, “The success of conservation in the province also depends on the positive role played by the NGO’s and private sector. It cannot be that we only see the NGO’s when they are criticising the government. It would be near impossible for Ezemvelo to undertake the translocation without the involvement of the two NGO’s.”
