In October 2017, an all-female herd of African elephants was released into the Samara Private Game Reserve in the Great Karoo. Now, after just over a year of monitoring the ellies and observing the success of the translocation, two bull elephants have been introduced to the reserve.
This translocation has made history as it is the first time in 150 years that bull elephants have walked the plains of Cambedoo. By reintroducing male elephants into the 70,000-acre reserve, the social structure of the herd will hopefully be influenced in a positive way. It is a step in the right direction for achieving Samara’s mission of restoring the ecosystem.
Source: Samara Private Game Reserve
The pair were translocated together (they came from the same reserve) to ensure that they wouldn’t become lonely in their new home. It will be interesting to observe how the females react and behave towards the males.
Source: Samara Private Game Reserve
Both males were taken from Phinda Private Game Reserve in Kwa-Zulu Natal, where they were often seen moving together. It estimated that one of the elephants is 30 years old and the other 20, and that they weigh 6.3 and 5.7 tons respectively.
‘It was a long drive for the two bulls, but it could not have gone better. Every time we checked on them en route, they were calm, with Kahle (the older bull) resting his trunk on a tusk or on the roof outside the vehicle’, says Ida Hansen of Elephants Rhinos People (ERP), one of the organisations which assisted, monitored and co-funded the translocation.
