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Umsuluze Orphans Thukela Biosphere Reserve
REPORT
compiled by
Various sources indicate that the last elephants were sighted in Natal during the late 1850’s. Certainly, they have not been seen in the Weenen area until now. Nine young elephants from the Kruger National Park have recently been relocated in the area.
These elephants which were orphans as a result of culling in the Kruger National Park, range in age from approximately two years to eight and one half years old and this report summaries their four month stay in the boma and their tow weeks of freedom subsequent to their release into the wild.
It was decided that the animals should be monitored from the time of their arrival until approximately two weeks after their release from the boma.
The object of this period of observation was, primarily:
BOMA AT ZANDSPRUIT / VARKENS HOEK
On the 1st July 1993, three female and three male elephants left Kruger National Park and, travelling overnight, reached their destination on the morning of 2nd July 1993. They were safely offloaded and the youngest female, THANDI, was the first to alight from the thirty ton Parks Board truck. She entered the boma followed by the other five. They commenced eating immediately but were not observed drinking for three days.
They spent their week familiarising themselves with their new environment in the boma.
The purposes of the elephants’ stay in the boma are as follows:
Five weeks later, on the 8th August 1993, four more elephant bull calves, aged between eighteen months and thirty months old, arrived at the boma. These calves drank immediately on entering the boma and were shocked by their worst nightmare, the electric fence. They were shocked several times before breaking the fence in four places.
After approximately two hours they became more relaxed and began feeding in the presence of others.
The following day it became apparent that the younger elephants had been totally accepted by the older calves. They mingled together and the older elephants appeared to be protective and exhibited concern for the younger calves. A calf, when playful, would climb on another calf that would then rouse himself and they would spar with each other.
Approximately three weeks after the second batch’s arrival, the smallest bull calf, PIE, aged eighteen months, became seriously ill and was removed from the boma for veterinary treatment but died shortly thereafter.
FEEDING
Initially, the elephants were fed approximately three bales of Teff grass, six kgs. Elephant pellets, half a bale of Lucerne and five kgs. Molasses. These amounts were slowly increased due to the available browsing material within the boma.
The Teff grass was increased to eight bales, the elephant pellets to fifty kilograms and twenty kilograms mixed molasses and water. The amount of Lucerne remained at half a bale and, in addition, they fed on a large variety of browsing material cut from the surrounding bush and appeared to favour the following:
Scotia Brachypatella Weeping boer bean Ziziphus Mucranata Buffalo thorn Papea Capensis Jacket plum Rhus Pentheri Common crow berry Maytenus Heterophylla Nana berry Rhus Dentata Common spike thorn Bird lime (tree parasite)
All members of the group ate well and developed an addiction to elephant pellets, which they appeared to relish.
WATER
For the last couple of weeks prior to their release from the boma, the elephants were drinking approximately six hundred litres per day.
DIGESTION AND EXCRETION
Invariably, their faeces appeared to be in good condition, although, occasionally, there were signs of loose stools and, in case of the very young, constipation were present from time to time.
BEHAVIOUR
THANDI was initially a bit of a loner but, after approximately nine weeks, she integrated well with the others.
During their stay in the boma the group appeared to adapt well to their surroundings and, by the end of their stay, had formed a bond group. THANDI in particular, displayed good leadership potential and confidence, although the eldest male, HLAKANIPHILE (“The wise one”) was dominant over the entire group.
Both the elephants and domestic livestock initially showed a keen interest in each other’s groups but eventually both parties seemed to accept, or at least tolerate, each other’s presence.
At first the sound of the goats seemed to caused the elephants distress until they had actually seen the goats and realised distress until they had actually seen the goats and realised that they posed no threat posed no threat to the group.
The elephants, after approximately one month in the boma appeared to tolerate their minders. However, they were greatly disturbed by the noise and presence of low-flying helicopters.
After a period of a couple of days the elephants had developed a healthy respect for the fence and avoided it altogether.
The elephants seemed to show affection for each other, nuzzling each other with their trunks and maintaining close contact. The very young were observed to have their trunks in their own mouths, from time to time, rather like a human infant with its dummy or pacifier.
At weekends there were numbers of visitors to the boma but the elephants seemed to be unaffected and appeared to be quite comfortable with the situation.
WEATHER:
HEAT: During very hot periods, the elephants ate and moved about less and sought the shade of the remaining trees in the boma, i.e. olea europaea and boscia albitrunca. They would spray water over themselves and wallow in the mud baths which they themselves had created and which their minders filled from their troughs which were cleaned and refilled on a daily basis. After mud baths, they would scratch themselves against trees.
COLD: During cold spells the elephants would cluster together around the food piles and eat more than usual. Their activity increased and they still indulged in mudbaths.
WIND: After some time in the wind, mucous would develop in the corners of their eyes. The smaller elephants would seek shelter among the larger calves.
FULL MOON:
It was noted that the elephants became much more active over the full moon period when they wandered more than usual during the night. As the nights darkened again, they because less active and would accordingly move around more during the hours of daylight.
However, towards the end of their stay in the boma, they appeared to become restless and bored, They played with stones and milled around aimlessly.
RELEASE AND FIRST SIXTEEN DAYS OF FREEDOM
On Monday, the 25th October, 1993, at 9 a.m. the gates of the boma were opened. THANDI hesitantly left the confines of the boma drawn by pellets being offered by the minders. After a few minutes THANDI seemed to realize that she was free to move on and she proceeded to the thick bush close to the boma. Approximately ten minutes later HLAKANIPHILE, GANGILE (“the naughty one”) and PUDDING emerged as well and commenced feeding on the pellets for two to three minutes after which they joined THANDI in the bush.
GEORGIE and PORGIE left the boma after much coaxing by their minders and, after hearing a reply to their “rumble” from the thick bush, they joined the others.
NELLIE and NOBODY emerged from the boma during the night and joined the group. None of the elephants outside the boma were observed drinking during that day. DUMBO remained in the boma all night and the following day, whilst the group was still in the bush, DUMBO paced up and down in the boma, obviously distressed and excreting copiously from his temporal glands.
He remained alone in the boma until Wednesday night in spite of the efforts of the other calves who re-entered the boma in an effort to persuade DUMBO by nudging him and urging him to accompany them. He was very reluctant.
During the period that DUMBO declined to leave the boma, the others stayed close by in the bush, not showing themselves, maintaining contact with DUMBO who later joined them on Wednesday evening.
On Thursday, two days before full moon, the entire group moved off downstream approximately 1 ½ kilometers from the boma.
They then headed up the hill but reached the fence, whereupon they turned around and proceeded to the foot of the hill where they remained feeding.
The following evening they moved to the Eastern boundary and again came to the fence and turned away. They established a home base in the valley leading into the Bloukrans River approximately eight hundred metres upstream from the Eastern boundary where there is an abundance of water, browsing and grazing. They appeared to gain more confidence daily and fed in the valley in the early morning on a variety of trees. They would sandbath during the heat of the day and became more and more active during the afternoon when they would move out of the valley in search of grazing and water.
In the late evening they would invariably return to the valley into the shelter and security of the thick bush.
CONCLUSION:
In conclusion, the elephants appear to have adapted adequately to their new habitat. They have bonded into a close family unit and it is hoped that they will continue to respect the fences.
It is anticipated that the presence of these animals will have a positive effect on the ecosystem.
If these nine young animals remain undisturbed and unmolested in their present surroundings, it is anticipated they will remain in the same area for some time to come and should not become a danger, a nuisance or a threat to neighbouring farms and crops.
WEENEN NOVEMBER, 1993
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