AFTER an almost 800km journey from Mozambique to South Africa, a group of 11 elephants is making the Kruger National Park (KNP) their home.
The 11 bull elephants left southern Mozambique about a month ago and journeyed across eSwatini and Mpumalanga, on an apparently intentional path towards KNP.
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In the early hours of Saturday, 7 May, the group crossed the border into South Africa and began the last 100km of their great trek.
Staying together for most of the journey, sadly the group came under fire upon entering South Africa, causing them to split up temporarily.
One of the bulls became seriously injured and began lagging behind his companion, Trailblazer, who was determined to be the group’s leader and had been collared by the Mozambique Wildlife Alliance earlier this year.
Elephants Alive said this final stretch was the most difficult of their almost 800km journey.
‘As a group of young and adventurous bulls, they moved over 500km across the Mozambique landscape and 128km across eSwatini in a very directional manner towards South Africa.
Image: Elephants Alive/Instagram Video: Elephants Alive/Facebook
‘In SA, they pushed hard to head home to KNP, and on 7 May they entered SA in the early hours of the morning and travelled a further 100km north.
‘The last leg of their journey has been the hardest as sadly they were shot at soon after entering SA.
‘We got word of an injured bull who was desperately trying to keep up with the group. We immediately rallied an expert vet and wildlife pilot to be on standby to treat the bull as dusk started approaching. ‘Again, the group had split into three. A decision was made by the Kruger veterinarian team and the provincial administration (Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency) to have him euthanised.’
Trailblazer was the only one to reach Kruger, in the early morning of Tuesday, 10 May, and started pacing the fenceline, looking for an entry point.
In an Instagram post, Elephants Alive said it was encouraging that Trailblazer did not attempt to break the fence into Kruger, but that fences would have to be dropped to let him and the rest of the group in.
As of late Tuesday afternoon, five of the now 10 bulls, including Trailblazer, had been captured, loaded onto translocation trucks and driven into Kruger National Park.
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On Friday morning, Elephants Alive said Trailblazer had settled into KNP, and four elephants of the five yet to be captured, had been spotted in eSwatini.
‘After being translocated to northern Kruger, Trailblazer appears to be settling into his new environment and the hope is the other four bulls that were translocated with him have done the same.
The same day Trailblazer was off-loaded at Kruger, he took a walk into Limpopo National Park, Mozambique.
‘We hope to be able to catch a glimpse of the bulls soon, to assess their condition after the translocation.’
The four bulls yet to be captured were spotted near Hlana Royal National Park in eSwatini.
‘It is highly possible that these four bulls are the ones that could not be found in South Africa, with them rather finding refuge in our neighbouring country after the ordeal of being shot at.’
Blazing a trail
Elephants Alive believes Trailblazer may have been from KNP originally, but why he would have led the group from Mozambique to South Africa shortly after having been collared on 30 March, needs to be urgently understood.
‘When Trailblazer was collared in Mozambique, he moved with another collared elephant, Cumbana, whose tracks showed that he had recently exited Kruger. The bulls were also not aggressive, and appeared used to tourists.
‘This suggests they are from Kruger, but continually watching their tracks over time will let us know for sure. We have a number of collared elephants that are moving between the south of Kruger across Mozambique to either re-enter South Africa (in places like Tembe Elephant Park) or to head back into Mozambique via eSwatini.
‘These pathfinders are teaching us daily about the routes that are available to elephants outside of protected areas.’
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