Culling 'a last resort' in Ezemvelo's elephant control plans

Mercury: September 16, 2009 Edition 1

Tony Carnie

EZEMVELO KZN Wildlife has become the first conservation agency to submit new elephant management plans - including the option of culling elephants at Hluhluwe-Imfolozi, Tembe, Isimangaliso and Ithala game reserves.

But Ezemvelo says no culling is on the cards yet as other methods of limiting elephant populations are being tested, including contraception at Tembe Elephant Park on the Mozambique border.

South Africa has more than 17 000 elephants in 80 national, provincial and private reserves. Most are in the Kruger National Park, which suspended culling 14 years ago.

A new elephant management policy was finalised last year and included the resumption of culling as a last option.

Responding to recent questions from DA environment spokesman Gareth Morgan, the national Environmental Affairs Department said no elephants had been culled since the new policy came into force in January last year.

Environment affairs director-general Nosipho Ngcaba confirmed that Ezemvelo had submitted management plans to the department for the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi, Isimangaliso, Ithala and Tembe reserves, and that they provided for culling.

She said, however, that the new policy stipulated that culling would be approved only as a last resort.

With the exception of a small herd on the border with Mozambique, elephants were wiped out in KwaZulu-Natal in the early 1900s.

More than 200 elephants were reintroduced to KZN's parks from 1981 to 1994. From a founder population of 160 orphans, the number in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park has grown to about 470. Tembe Elephant Park now has 270 elephants, Ithala about 110, Isimangaliso (St Lucia) 60 and Mkhuze about 50.