Windhoek, Namibia — Seven elephants from Namibia are adjusting to a new home across the border in Angola after conservationists said the animals needed a new habitat to survive.

The Cuatir Nature Reserve in southeastern Angola was known for its bustling elephant population during colonial times, but the 27-year war between Angola’s government and UNITA rebels, which ended in 2002, led to every elephant in the reserve being killed.

“[E]lephants were taken out completely due to their value for meat to feed people and also the value of their tusks to pay for the war expenses,” said reserve owner Stephen Van Wyk.

Now, Van Wyk is working to reintroduce the jumbos to the 40,000-hectare game reserve.

The elephants were transported from the Mount Etjo Safari Lodge in Namibia, where seven years of persistent drought has decreased forage and grazing land for a herd of 50 elephants.

Annette and Alex Oelefse — the mother and son duo who own the reserve –- plan to relocate 14 to 16 more elephants in the coming weeks.

Annette Oelefse told VOA that water resources and forage at the Cuatir reserve in Angola are sufficient for the elephants that have moved there, and they do not expect the elephants to try to make their way back to Namibia.

She said the animals — which include a mother and her young — are calm and are adapting to their new environment.

“She is the stability of a herd and also her young and so that forms a beautiful herd. She has gone with her family, her teenage calves and her little calf, so the structure is a very stable family,” Annette Oelefse said.

Wildlife veterinarian Ulf Tubbesing assisted in tranquilizing the elephants and ensuring they were not harmed during the 700-kilometer (435-mile), 38-hour trip by road to Angola from August 5 to 7, 2024.

He told VOA the relocated elephants will be kept in an electrically fenced area of Cuatir reserve.

“I think the elephants will feel that they have landed in paradise, you know, compared to Namibia, especially with our drought situation where we have very scarce vegetation and very dry trees and no grass,” Tubbesing said. “The transition from Namibia to the southern part of Angola, the Cuando Cubango Province, is really fantastic; the elephants are really enjoying eating from the vegetation there.”

Experts say translocating elephants is a very expensive undertaking, but remains the best option to repopulate areas where the animals once roamed freely — and to decrease pressure in areas where the population has grown too big.
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