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I am of the opinion that in an island reserve such as Pilansberg or
Madikwe, if you cannot translocate the excess elephant, there is no
other alternative but to cull in order to maintain the ecological
integrity of the reserve.
However, this is not the case with the Kruger National Park. I,
after spending many years living in Timbavati side by side with
elephants and interacting with them on a daily basis, have formed a
different view. National parks and reserves should be audited to
ascertain whether the reserve in question could sustain an elephant
population crash and if so elephant populations should be allowed to
climb and crash as the natural cycles dictate.
The Kruger National Park has recently become a Transfrontier Park.
An additional million hectares has now been fenced in with the KNP,
which is now three million hectare in extent. This reserve could
possibly sustain elephant populations indefinitely as occurs with
wildebeest populations in the Serengeti.
There needs to be a paradigm shift in the thinking of
conservationists who support culling and consider it the only the
alternative. Nature has looked after itself for millions of years;
conservation is a new science and has only been practiced as
"educated guesses" for about 80 years or so. We need to comprehend
that culling is only one option of many and each situation is
unique. To cull at this time while the park is expanding is
premature.
The elephants and other wildlife are stimulus-response organisms and
will respond to any stimulus in their environment. Culling will lead
to more prolific breeding. Overpopulation will lead to some
elephants moving into new areas without having to be forced. Allow
them to do their thing and I am sure we will learn a thing or two
and be pleasantly surprised. My vote goes to applying a flexible,
accountable approach to the situation.
Marco Schiess
Umlani Bushcamp
Timbavati
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In our country, a passionate debate, regarding the proposal of elephant
culling in the Kruger Park has been waging.
Right from the start let me say, essentially I am against it. However,
what are the alternatives?!To simplify the whole debate, in my
opinion, the issue is one of carrying capacity and the need to preserve
biodiversity in the park. Yes it’s great that on our safaris, elephants
are now virtually a guaranteed sighting, as this was not the case 10
years ago. But is this point of view not short sighted and what will
happen when numbers do create a situation where biodiversity is indeed
threatened, if it hasn’t already. The alternatives, contraception, and
the idea of letting nature take its course, do have major flaws.
Contraception is expensive, labour intensive and does cause stress to
females who do not fall pregnant and therefore no longer have any
respite from bulls wanting to mate with them which of course happened in
the past. Although not falling pregnant, females do still enter a state
of heat and therefore get hassled by bulls for mating rights. My
personal belief is that playing with elephant hormones is inviting
trouble and with a park frequented by so many uninformed visitors on a
daily basis, who are not used to these dangerous animals, will
inevitably create problems. There is talk of new contraceptive measures
not requiring the same labour intensive practices as in the past. Great
if it works and does not cause any undue stress to our elephants but we
also need to see proof of this before it is allowed.
Letting nature take its course, in my opinion is naïve and cannot be
allowed. Effectively a fenced off area like the Kruger becomes a very
large zoo and animals cannot move out of areas that are saturated by
their own species. The result is stress on the elephants due to
overcrowding and of course, habitat depletion with the resultant loss of
animal and plant diversity. The argument for allowing scientists and
biologists to first accurately gauge the parks carrying capacity is
valid and should be considered first before any operations are launched.
If habitat destruction has already taken place, then these facts need to
be presented so that we are able to determine the level of urgency
required to get the research finished as soon as possible. So yes,
seeing elephants is great but I would rather have a park that is diverse
and in a state of natural balance. In the longer term fewer elephants
with greater biodiversity would in my opinion be healthier for tourism
and be far more sustainable.
Let me repeat myself, I am essentially against elephant culling and
would prefer to see another method used or invented to control the
population but I think we are fast running out of options.
Leonard van der Walt
Safari Rangers
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"Sustainable management of Africa's beasts will come from Africa. It is
Kruger National park's successful wildlife management policies that have
made the numbers of elephants to increase than to dwindle. I don't say
cull or not cull, I am more concerned with an approach that seeks to
preserve than conserve our wildlife. It will be interesting to know the
cost factor of either culling or contraception. I am just wondering
where will the money come from for either option? Is there enough money
generated by tourism to fund wildlife? Is the government going to
increase its budget for the Department of Environmental Affairs and
Tourism, if so which services will be sacrificed for either option. What
will be the reaction of the people living close to the Park whose only
benefit from the Park are just low paying jobs. Lets face it Kruger
National Park is surrounded by poverty and what ever choice, it must be
the one that must be balanced. I am sure a person living close to the
Park who is struggling to get basic services will resent any decision to
cut down on budget to provide these services to appease emotions. We
must be sensitive to pictures of dead elephants as well as people dying
of Aids and children whose only hope to escape poverty is education and
lack of classrooms force them to attend school under trees.
Conservation is an all inclusive approach, consider an affordable
solution."
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"I would hope that every avenue be pursued to arrive at the the most
appropriate course of action from all angles. A solution must be found
to save these magnificent animals. Culling of elephants must be the
absolutely final solution. I have booked into Kruger for July 2006 and I
hope my trip is enhanced by seeing many elephants."
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"I think instead of culling they should employee birth control for the
elephants. There has already been neutering of bull elephants in some
places. They should try this first."
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"In September 2005 we travelled right through Kruger, from Punda Maria
in the North, to Crocodile in the South, spending a chunk of time in the
Northern areas. There seems no doubt that the elephant population is
unsustainably large as witnessed by the destruction of trees on a huge
scale and the lack of sufficient foodstuffs. Translocation clearly isn't
an option...the numbers that could be taken by zoos are infinitesimal,
and who would wish that on any animal, however 'good' the institution?
Contraception sounds a great idea for the future management of numbers,
but it looked to us like something needs to be done sooner. Don't get me
wrong...we are potty about elephants, but is starvation better than
humane culling? And those tourists who are reluctant to visit Kruger
because of this issue I would say Go! But don't just visit the honeypots
of the South... get up North and see the reality of the elephant
situation. In any case, the far North is really beautiful, and Punda
Maria's Tented Camp one of the very nicest. And then as you travel South
you get to see and appreciate the wildly varying habitats... and the
elephant quandary."
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"Why kill when contraception is available? It's not as though Kruger is
about to collapse immediately from too many elephants. Culling is not
acceptable in my eyes; to kill large numbers of these majestic beasts is
just wrong. I am planning a trip to South Africa late next year, but
Kruger will be off the list if the culling goes ahead. If they really
care about the elephants just stop them breeding for a while!!!"
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"South Africa is one of the most Beautiful places in the world. When I
visited there 3 years ago I was very impressed with the work that had
been put into the conservation of the animals, and landscapes. However,
I am extremely appalled to find out that the government is even
considering culling as an option for controlling the increasing elephant
population in Kruger National Park. To be honest I am a little impressed
is there is an overpopulation because really it means the government has
done their job SO FAR in terms of the preservation of the species. But
in no way should murder ever be an option for controlling
overpopulation! What kind of message does that send the rest of the
world and to poachers!! That the South African government believes that
poaching is actually ok if there are ENOUGH animals to support it? No it
is not! These Elephants have just as much right to live as any other
creature. Especially if there is other options (which there is)! I
realize that relocation is not the best option but I do know that there
is shortage of them in St. Lucia National Park and they have been
working at reintroducing them there. I am sure they would love some
more. Otherwise I am in strong supporter for the option of birth
control. I am sure the government prefers the culling option because it
would be cheaper and possibly even make them money because of the ivory
etc. But it the worst choice available! Think of what the world opinion
would be of South Africa if the government were to go ahead with this.
South Africa is becoming a big destination for travelers and people are
flocking there to see these animals. If the World starts to see the
government in support of the culling, I can guarantee that people will
make a point of avoiding South Africa instead. So would the government
really be making or saving money in the long run???? I am personally
disgusted with the government of South Africa for even considering this
as a choice. Really can the South African government afford another blow
to their reputation after so many years.
Make a better choice than culling these beautiful giants!"
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