An elephantine trip
Commencing Africa’s biggest translocation operation, non-profit organisation African Parks (AP) has recently moved 250 elephants to Malawi’s Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve from Liwonde National Park, where surplus pachyderms were exacerbating human–wildlife conflict and habitat degradation. Another 250 will be transported from Majete next year, too. Once a poachers’ paradise, Nkhotakota is now being restored, putting it back on the map as a wildlife destination. Using 30-tonne trucks, the unusual cargo is transported an impressive 350km before being released into their secure 160sq-km sanctuary within the reserve.
Credit: Frank Weitzer / African Parks