Roaming Mawana Game Reserve elephants which pose a threat to several communities in Ulundi, northern KZN. Picture: Supplied.
While Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife awaits a roaming permit for the more than 30 Mawana Game Reserve elephants from the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), should a threat to communities arise, the identified elephants will be destroyed.
This is according to Vuviswa Radebe, executive manager of biodiversity conservation operations at Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, who was speaking during an update on the situation in Ulundi, northern KZN with the roaming elephants.
This comes after the elephants were reportedly terrorising communities outside the reserve. In March, an elephant attacked a herdsman.
Radebe said it was a wake-up call when the herdsman was attacked by a Mawana elephant.
However, she said when they were ready to issue the reserve with a compliance notice in April, Mawana informed Ezemvelo that the elephants no longer belonged to the reserve.
Radebe said Ezemvelo sought legal advice that confirmed that these elephants were Res Nullius (does not have an owner).
She said several options were considered including moving the animals to another area however it was found that there was no interest from within or outside the country to relocate the elephants.
Doing nothing was not an option because the safety of the communities was a concern.
However, she said DFFE advised Ezemvelo that the damage-causing animals permit was insufficient as the elephants had become a herd, and they now had to apply for a roaming permit.
“We did apply for that permit in July 2024,” she said, adding that the matter had been escalated to the Premier's office and the Presidency over the safety of the affected people.
Ezemvelo spokesperson Musa Mntambo further explained that without ownership, Ezemvelo needs a roaming permit to destroy these elephants. "It means we can destroy elephants that are not inside any game reserve and are in a community."
Radebe said in August, while waiting for the roaming permit, nine elephants that were terrorising labourers on a farm were destroyed, which garnered huge backlash.
As a result, she said a decision was taken that a collaborative effort between Ezemvelo, NGOs, and the communities was needed to deal with this issue.
“In October, community members from KwaCeza were complaining about the elephants next to the clinic, next to the schools, terrorising the community,” she said, noting that Ezemvelo acted together with the NGOs, and the elephants were driven back into an area away from the communities with a helicopter.
Radebe said there was a meeting with all the stakeholders on November 19 where a proposal to move the elephants to an emergency area was discussed.
She said it seemed like a feasible option, and most of the communities were happy that the elephants could be pushed into that area, fenced in.
“The only issue is where is the emergency area? …for me, this is a solution if we can get confirmation of the emergency area, which we do not have as Ezemvelo at this moment in time.”
She said other proposals were presented but it lacked funding and needed collaboration with other NGOs.
Radebe said all the options that were put forward all tie into each other in one way or another, “and all are dependent on this emergency area, which is still not known.”
“The meeting could not find an immediate solution, and the bottom line is the elephants are still there, and the elephants are still roaming, and they have been pushed into an area that is not fenced. So for now, we are just playing it by ear, and should the elephants escape and there is evidence that there is substantial loss to livestock or crops as well as an immediate or imminent threat to human lives, as Ezemvelo, we will be forced to act.”
Radebe said it is clear that South Africa has a crisis regarding the elephant population, which now stands at more than 30 000, which is double the capacity of the country.
“Our elephant populations have reached carrying capacity in most of our conservation areas, and something needs to be done.”
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