By Yemi Olakitan
263 African elephants have been transported out of Liwonde National park to their new home in Kasungu National Park, Malawi’s second biggest nature reserve. Conservationists are supporting the removal of the 263 elephants because of a promise of a bigger and better life for the animals.
According to reports, the Liwonde National park had been struggling to cope with increased numbers as the elephants had been breeding too much and there was a lack of space.
As a result, these African beasts were tranquilized by darts in family groups and then hoisted up by airlifts.
They were placed into large trucks before being taken by road to the reserve which was miles away in the north of the country. The £2 million pound move was organised by the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) in partnership with African Parks and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).
There are more than 400 other wildlife being relocated including buffalo, impala, sable, warthog and waterbuck to fill a nature reserve previously plagued by poachers leaving it virtually empty.
A thousand people turned out to welcome the elephants to the park but some people living nearby are not happy with their new neighbors.
African Parks Country manager, Patricio Ndadzera, said at the start of the move: “What we are doing now is creating a tourism site for Malawi.
The Kasungu elephant population fell from around 1,200 in to just 50 in 2015, due to excessive poaching but increased to 100 after a crackdown.
According to Sam Kamoto, African Parks representative in Malawi, “This will establish viable elephant population, and ensure the prosperity of local communities living around the parks,”
“It will also alleviate habitat pressure and reduce human-wildlife conflict.”
Since 2015 there were fears at Liwonde National Park that the elephants were threatening the park’s vegetation and biodiversity after breeding at a rate of 10% per year.