Page 32 - 25 Reasons

A member of the elephant translocation team carefully loads a sedated elephant on to the truck that will take it to its new home
MOVING GIANTS

Reserve in South Africa to Mozambique. ‘‘ De Beers Group through ongoing monitoring of their
n ongoing initiative to protect the
wellbeing and enhanced protection efforts.
welfare of wildlife in South Africa and
aims to relocate 200
Ahelp restore Mozambique’s elephant
Covering 32 000 hectares and established
population is also one of the largest elephant
in the early 1990s, Venetia Limpopo Nature
elephants, and
translocations so far recorded in South Africa.
Reserve can accommodate about 70
elephants without adverse impacts on the
In the first phase of the project in 2018,
ensure that they
surrounding ecosystem.
60 elephants were moved 1 700km from De
However, before the first phase of the
Beers Group’s Venetia Limpopo Nature
habitat through
The 60 elephants were transported last July flourish in their new project, there were more than 270 elephants
on the reserve as a result of natural
to Zinave National Park in central population growth.
Mozambique. Another 150 elephants will be ongoing monitoring By contrast, wildlife populations in Zinave
moved to conservation areas within National Park, which was founded in the
Mozambique from this year. of their wellbeing 1960s, were critically depleted during
De Beers Group has partnered with the and enhanced Mozambique’s 15-year civil war. The park
Peace Parks Foundation, a leading nonprofit offers significant carrying capacity for large
organisation focusing on the preservation of protection efforts numbers of elephants across its 408 000
large functional cross-border ecosystems, to hectares and is currently home to only about
carry out the initiative. 110 of them.
Through formal agreements with As part of its investment, De Beers Group
Mozambique’s National Administration for is also providing the Peace Parks Foundation
Conservation Areas, the Peace Parks with R7.4 million over five years to help fund
Foundation co-manages Zinave National Park, antipoaching support measures, which will
which is an integral component of the Great Beers Group with the translocation, ensuring include the hiring and training of new park
Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area. the elephants’ social groups aren’t disturbed rangers, and the opening of new access roads
The Peace Parks Foundation will assist De and that they flourish in their new habitat to increase patrol coverage.
32 ANGLO AMERICAN 25 REASONS TO BELIEVE