While the world population of elephants has been in decline for many decades, some parks appear to have too many. The Addo Elephant Park and the Kruger National Park both have large, healthy populations of elephants - some people say 'Enough already'
Excellent piece, very thought-provoking. I’m not sure to what extent it’s possible to judge when a protected area has truly reached carrying capacity. It would obviously be tragic if it got to the point that elephants had to be culled. Of course, if we had preserved the landscape connectivity and not put up fences, we wouldn’t even need to have this conversation.
Thank-you for your words of encouragement. You are of course absolutely correct about the problems we humans created with our fences. I believe that several private parks in the Eastern Cape are negotiating plans to drop mutual boundary fences. This will create larger open spaces and hopefully create ecosystems closer to what they originally were.
If you have suggestions for future newsletters, please don't hesitate to send them along.
I agree wholeheartedly with Mark G. I’m a regular visitor to Madikwe Game Reserve in the North West Province. The western border of the Madikwe Game Reserve runs along the R49 (between Zeerust and Gaborone) and it’s very clear to see that there is a stark difference between the Reserve on the one side (where the elephants have really caused MAJOR destruction) and the other side (which is in private possession). I know that the North West Parks are in consultation with the other Parks Boards to find a solution to this particular problem. I wish I could dream up a solution somehow, but, alas, I can’t. I just hope that the powers that be will come up with some solution really soon, because the current situation is completely unsustainable.
Thank-you for your insights. Right now the Addo management are trying to raise money to completely rebuild the Hapoor Dam. At the moment it is a huge mess with a buffalo or an elephant calf getting stuck in the mud on a regular basis. It is surprising because although Hapoor is fairly near the centre of the park, it is not the biggest dam. The vegetation around it is also quite depleted, but the elephants seem to like the area a lot. All the best, from Steven
Excellent piece, very thought-provoking. I’m not sure to what extent it’s possible to judge when a protected area has truly reached carrying capacity. It would obviously be tragic if it got to the point that elephants had to be culled. Of course, if we had preserved the landscape connectivity and not put up fences, we wouldn’t even need to have this conversation.
Thank-you for your words of encouragement. You are of course absolutely correct about the problems we humans created with our fences. I believe that several private parks in the Eastern Cape are negotiating plans to drop mutual boundary fences. This will create larger open spaces and hopefully create ecosystems closer to what they originally were.
If you have suggestions for future newsletters, please don't hesitate to send them along.
Best wishes,
Steven
Hi Steven,
I agree wholeheartedly with Mark G. I’m a regular visitor to Madikwe Game Reserve in the North West Province. The western border of the Madikwe Game Reserve runs along the R49 (between Zeerust and Gaborone) and it’s very clear to see that there is a stark difference between the Reserve on the one side (where the elephants have really caused MAJOR destruction) and the other side (which is in private possession). I know that the North West Parks are in consultation with the other Parks Boards to find a solution to this particular problem. I wish I could dream up a solution somehow, but, alas, I can’t. I just hope that the powers that be will come up with some solution really soon, because the current situation is completely unsustainable.
Hi Schalk,
Thank-you for your insights. Right now the Addo management are trying to raise money to completely rebuild the Hapoor Dam. At the moment it is a huge mess with a buffalo or an elephant calf getting stuck in the mud on a regular basis. It is surprising because although Hapoor is fairly near the centre of the park, it is not the biggest dam. The vegetation around it is also quite depleted, but the elephants seem to like the area a lot. All the best, from Steven