The Addo Elephant Park South Africa: An Example of Wildlife Conservation That Worked

Wildlife conservation in South Africa and all over the world has its success stories and its failures. One of the greatest conservation success stories is the Addo Elephant Park in South Africa. It has become a popular destination attracting tourists from all over the world staying in some of the many Addo guest houses that are found on or next to the park. Some are privately owned, through a system of concessions and some are owned by the Addo Elephant Park itself. The accommodation ranges from the luxurious to the basic across all price ranges, much of it a far cry from the parks humble beginnings as a place primarily for the conservation of the areas dwindling elephant population.

Founded in 1931, thanks in large part to Sydney Skaife, the Addo Elephant Park in South Africa, named for the village of Addo which sits on the outskirts, started off with just eleven elephants. The area of the Eastern Cape in which the Addo Elephant Park is situated was once home to massive herds of them, including the legendary Knysna Forest elephant. Due to the popular trade in ivory combined with the relatively poor rural communities in the area the elephants were hunted to near extinction. In 1915 the Eastern Cape farmers made a request to the government to have the remaining Eastern Cape Elephants culled due to the nuisance they caused to the farming activities. Major P.J. Pretorius was given the task of exterminating the remaining Addo Elephants and between 1919 and 1920 shot 114 of them capturing two others and selling them to the circus.

In 1929 Sydney Skaife established the Wild Life Protection and Conservation Society now called the Wildlife Society of Southern Africa. It was his concern over the decimation of the wildlife in the KwaZulu Natal area caused by the tsetse fly control campaign that led him to form the society. He helped establish several game reserves, the most prominent being the Addo Elephant Park South Africa. It started with just the 11 elephants remaining in the surrounding area and no real accommodation or guest houses to speak of and covered an area of just 5000 ha. Over the course of the twentieth century the park underwent a massive expansion.

Today the Addo Elephant Park South Africa covers 164 000 ha and there are plans to expand it to 360 000 ha. It currently includes a marine reserve which makes it one of the only places in the world where you can see the "big 7," the original big 5 with the Southern Right whale and the Great White shark added to the list. The expansion was achieved largely through buying up farms from willing sellers around the reserve and setting up concessions which allowed the private sector to open Addo guest houses and semi-private game reserves within the park boundaries. These Addo guest houses have played a large role in helping the conservation efforts of the Addo Elephant Park South Africa by bringing in foreign revenue and, more importantly, interest to the park. This is helping to educate the world about the necessity of conservation such as that being practiced at the Addo Elephant Park in South Africa.

Rogue Elephant

Don't ever underestimate an elephant. The beautiful African elephant may appear peaceful in their slow movements, but they are extremely territorial which invokes aggressive protection of their young and the herd. They are extremely fast on foot despite their size, reaching up to speeds of eighty kilometers an hour. You would not want not want to be in the pathway of one of those gentle giants when on the rampage.

It was an Easter holiday weekend and many campers were settled in the popular camping resort at Kariba Dam, Zimbabwe. The thrill of camping 'in the wild' was the attraction. Fishing from the many small recesses of the waters edge until sunset and coming back to camp with a good catch of Tiger fish was something to be proud of.

But in the simmering heat deeper into the bush was a rogue elephant, wounded by careless hunters who took a shot at an unsuspecting elephant, supposedly missed, and mistakenly moved on looking for another 'kill'. The wounded elephant began to separate from the rest of the herd to seek solace and relief from the constant pain at his side. A natural aggression growing in his drive to survive. The heat was stifling and with water too far off there was little comfort for the rogue.

Suddenly a crunch in the grass behind the elephant. An inquisitive camper had passed by on the road back to the fenced camping resort and spotted the lonely elephant. Inexperienced in the reasons for the rogue's separation from the herd, the holiday maker decided to steal a closer look and even considered taking a close up photograph to show off with when he returned to the campsite.

Startled, the bull spun on his heel and came face to face with an animal of the human species. Associating the painful incident only days before with the smell of this 'creature' that was a mere two metres distance from him, the instinctive reaction was to attack and kill the offending individual. Within seconds the elephants ears began to flap. He moved with a slow sway toward the man, rocked back and forth, lowered his head and pulled his ears back tightly, and blundered towards the man with every intention to do serious bodily harm to the point of death. Yes. That would satisfy this rogue immensely.

It only took a second for the wide-eyed spectator to figure what was coming. With grasshopper legs, he sprung sideways in an attempt to run, stumbled, gather his balance again and headed straight back to the road where his vehicle was stationery, with driver side door open and ready for access. As the man felt soft earth giving way under the strain of his sprint, he felt the aura of the elephant, it was that close. With the vehicle in sight, the elephant slowed a little in contemplation of the fight with the metal monster and gave up the chase.