Our Partners & Collaborators
Tembe to Munywana Tusker Translocation
KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, March 2025
In northern Zululand, near the Mozambique border, a multi-disciplinary team races against time. The sun rises over the Indian Ocean, misty with the threat of rain—bad for the beach, perfect for moving a giant.
Life in rural South Africa is slower, shaped by realities absent from cities. Running water, data, and electricity are luxuries. Wildlife like leopards, crocodiles, and snakes are a daily presence.
At Tembe Elephant Park, one 120-pounder (50 kg per tusk) has become a problem elephant, breaking fences and raiding crops. Electric fences are a psychological barrier, but once breached, containment is nearly impossible.
For the community living in the area, the damage can be devastating. Imagine spending months tending your subsistence garden, sweet potatoes, mielies and green peppers, only to find it ravaged one morning, a light snack for the roaming pachyderm. Or worse, stumbling on this wayward elephant in the middle of the night or early morning. Human fatalities due to elephants are rare, but have happened in South Africa.
With destruction looming, relocation was the only option—but moving a six-ton elephant is no small task.
A team from Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife Game Capture, Conservation Solutions, Munywana Conservancy, and WeWild Africa assembled at 5am. An R44 helicopter, two semi-trucks, multiple 4x4s, and a thermal drone were deployed.
After five hours of tracking, the chopper and drone finally located the elephant. Despite sirens and attempting to drive it to the open, it kept retreating into thick vegetation. Once the veterinarian darted the elephant, the clock started ticking.
Three teams split up: one to stabilize the elephant, another to cut a path, and the last to clear access for the recovery truck.
Chainsaws roared, the smell of cut palms, diesel, and elephant sweat filled the air. A 6.5-ton crane struggled, forcing manpower to lift parts of the animal—three men barely lifting its trunk.
By nightfall, after hours of transport in heavy rain, the final transfer to the recovery crate was tense. The elephant woke up angry, shaking the crate, trumpeting loud enough to hit like a blow to the chest. The community lined the roads, watching the giant leave, waving it goodbye and cheering.
At 1 AM, heavy rain turned the release ramp into mud, impassible for trucks. Improvising, the team opened the crate before the ramp. The elephant hesitated, sniffed the air, reached toward its exhausted captors—then stepped into the darkness of the new reserve.
About Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife
Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife (Ezemvelo) is the provincial conservation authority responsible for biodiversity conservation and protected area management in KwaZulu-Natal. Its mandate is derived from the KwaZulu-Natal Nature Conservation Management Act (Act No. 9 of 1997), which entrusts the organisation with the conservation, protection, and sustainable use of the province’s rich natural heritage. This includes the management of protected areas (PAs), the promotion of ecotourism, and the development of conservation strategies that align with national and provincial priorities.Through strategic partnerships and the implementation of targeted conservation and tourism initiatives, the organisation creates employment opportunities while ensuring that conservation efforts contribute to the socio-economic upliftment of local communities. It manages 463 protected areas. For more information, visit: https://www.kznwildlife.com/, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and X.
About Tembe Elephant Park
Tembe Elephant Park, managed by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, is a sanctuary for some of the largest elephants in Africa, located in the northeastern corner of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The park covers over 30,000 hectares and borders Mozambique, making it a crucial transboundary conservation area. Renowned for its majestic tuskers, Tembe Elephant Park houses the “Big 5” while while also providing habitat for a myriad of endemic and endangered species, including the elusive leopard, the endangered black rhino, suni which is one of the smallest antelope species in Africa, and over 340 bird species. This unique ecosystem is co-managed by the local Tembe tribe, who are integral to the park’s conservation efforts. For more information, visit: https://www.kznwildlife.com/, and follow us on Instagram, X, and Facebook.
About The Munywana Conservancy
The Munywana Conservancy, a collaboration of private and community landowners, is a protected wildlife conservation area spanning 29,866 hectares (73,800 acres). The conservancy has a proud history of successful conservation endeavours and groundbreaking research which have been instrumental to the protection of threatened species including rhino, cheetah, pangolin, lion and elephant. Wildlife translocations of rhino and cheetah from the Munywana Conservancy continue to support new source populations within South and southern Africa. For more information visit: https://www.andbeyond.com/impact/history/our-phinda-story/
About Conservation Solutions
Conservation Solutions specializes in large-scale wildlife capture, translocation, and restocking projects across Africa. With a proven track record of managing some of the continent’s largest and most complex wildlife relocations, their efforts often span international boundaries as part of broader continental conservation initiatives. Witnessing the loss of a species is heart-breaking, but there is nothing quite as hopeful as seeing its return. For more information visit www.conservationsolutions.co.za, Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube.
About WeWild Africa
WeWild Africa was founded in 2019 by veteran conservation experts with 100+ years collective experience in wildlife conservation in Africa. We have worked in some of the most challenging places and situations in the world, with a never-give-up mindset. Through partnerships with key stakeholders and committed organisations and reserves, WeWild Africa is able to make decisions quickly and provide seemingly impossible solutions. Since 2019, the organisation has directly impacted over 1000 animals through rescue or rewilding. WeWild Africa, in collaboration with DCM Surfaces and the Wildlife Emergency Fund, supports the third Rhino Rewild operation this year with this translocation to KwaZulu-Natal. For more information visit: www.wewildafrica.com, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, and Youtube.
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Wiki West
- April 15, 2025
