SWAKOPMUND ELEPHANT
Wildlife Vets Namibia recently purchased own specialized elephant crates consisting of 2 transport crates, and a wake-up crate. Soon after their arrival in Namibia, they could put the equipment to work. At the request of the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) and N/a’an ku sê we captured and translocated the “Swakopmund” elephant.
It is a bit of a mystery where this ‘beach boy’ came from. He was first seen at a farm in the Otjiwarongo area in Sep/Oct ’19. After that he disappeared for a while, and around Christmas ’19 he was spotted at the coast. He was in very poor condition and dehydrated. Thanks for the MEFT and a couple of donors who provided food and water, he recovered well. MEFT placed a tracking collar on him to monitor his movements, and lured him inlands. He settled for a while in the Omaruru river area, but soon returned to Swakopmund again. Several attempts to lure him back inland failed. He made the Swakop river and Rossmund Golf Club his new “home”.
He frequented the same areas where people ride their bikes and walk their dogs. Taxi drivers doubled up as tour guides, taking tourists in on foot to see the elephant. The “suitable” elephant habitat in the area is extremely limited, which would result him running out of food. Needless to say, his next feeding ground would be the gardens of Swakopmund. This was a situation where an accident waited to happen and we all know that the elephant would be blamed, and likely get shot... Health issues for the elephant were the high salt content of the water, as well as the fact that some of the vegetation in the area is toxic when eaten in high dosages – he recently had bouts of diarrhea likely caused by these factors. For his own wellbeing, the decision was made by MEFT to translocate him, and we could facilitate the capture and translocation process.
Ulf darted the elephant from an MEFT helicopter, and once he was immobilized, a crane truck picked him up. Now the difficult time started… getting out of the sand! Luckily we had some heavy machinery on stand-by who helped us to get to the elephant crates.
The elephant was closely monitored during the whole procedure, and was injected with a vitamin booster, a tranquilizer and we vaccinated it with Rhinovax (against anthrax and clostridium). The elephant was brought to the wake-up crate. The crane lifted him on a piece of conveyor belt, and he was pulled into the wake-up crate. Then we woke him up. When he was standing, we opened the doors, so he could walk into the transport crates.
Then it was time to undertake the 420 km journey to its final destination! To avoid unnecessary delays at the road blocks, all members of the capture team were tested for signs of COVID-19 and we had a start to finish escort by the Nampol Traffic Division.
Around 19:00 we arrived at the N/a’an ku sê reserve. The elephant was released into a specially built elephant pre-release boma, where he could rest, be monitored closely and gets used to the electric fencing. He disembarked very quietly, and quickly disappeared into the bush. He was kept in this boma for 36 hours, and was then released into the 7500-ha reserve itself.
The reserve has elephant-proof fencing, and after the good rains the vegetation is lush and green so there is plenty of food around. The elephant remains State property. The bull is doing well so far and is enjoying all the grass!
We would like to express our gratitude to the MEFT, N/a’an ku sê, Cowboy's Trading & Rental Solutions, Swakopmund Hire Sales and Services cc, the Nampol Traffic Division, health officials and all others who were involved in this operation. It was a big team effort, many thanks!
With our new elephant crates, we now are really capable of translocating any species! If you want to make use f our services, you are welcome to contact us anytime.
Wildlife Vets Namibia recently purchased own specialized elephant crates consisting of 2 transport crates, and a wake-up crate. Soon after their arrival in Namibia, they could put the equipment to work. At the request of the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) and N/a’an ku sê we captured and translocated the “Swakopmund” elephant.
Ulf darted the elephant from an MEFT helicopter, and once he was immobilized, a crane truck picked him up. Now the difficult time started… getting out of the sand! Luckily we had some heavy machinery on stand-by who helped us to get to the elephant crates.
Then it was time to undertake the 420 km journey to its final destination! To avoid unnecessary delays at the road blocks, all members of the capture team were tested for signs of COVID-19 and we had a start to finish escort by the Nampol Traffic Division.
Around 19:00 we arrived at the N/a’an ku sê reserve. The elephant was released into a specially built elephant pre-release boma, where he could rest, be monitored closely and gets used to the electric fencing. He disembarked very quietly, and quickly disappeared into the bush. He was kept in this boma for 36 hours, and was then released into the 7500-ha reserve itself.
We would like to express our gratitude to the MEFT, N/a’an ku sê, Cowboy's Trading & Rental Solutions, Swakopmund Hire Sales and Services cc, the Nampol Traffic Division, health officials and all others who were involved in this operation. It was a big team effort, many thanks!
With our new elephant crates, we now are really capable of translocating any species! If you want to make use f our services, you are welcome to contact us anytime.
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