Elephant translocation project in Malawi

In June 2008 fifthy elephants will be captured in the Liwonde National Park, an area of only 550 km2 that supports in excess of 700 elephants. Liwonde is an active tourism area and the elephants are habituated to vehicles, people and boats.

Another twenty or more elephants will be captured from the Mangochi area - free-ranging elephants on settled community land to the west of Lake Malawi. In a continuous struggle for survival these animals have been known to clash with and kill villagers protecting their food source. Many of these animals carry gunshot wounds. Some have had the tips of their trunks amputated by snares.

During July/August 2006 already seventy African elephants were translocated into the Majete Wildlife Reserve in the Lower Shire Valley of Malawi. This was the culmination of a wildlife recovery programme for Majete carried out by African Parks (Majete) Limited that to date has seen close to 1100 animals of nine different species re-established. Majete supported an elephant population of about 300 animals as recently as 1987. Heavy poaching wiped out the entire population by 1992.

The African Parks Foundation put together another unique adventure expedition. The elephant translocation experience will help to raise funds for the monitoring of the translocated elephants and future translocation projects for the Majete Wildlife Reserve.