This blog was especially hard to write without losing my head and turning into a rant. I have been contemplating whether or not to post this but decided it plays too much of role in my stay here in South Africa to ignore. For the past few weeks we have been hearing rumours about the future of the elephants here on the game reserve. Disney Corporation, Space for Elephants and OpWall have been working with the PGR to develop a management plan for the elephants, but apparently it hasn’t been enough. I would be lying if I said that I didn’t have some idea of what was going on behind closed doors here. The majority of the owners of the PGR are sugarcane farmers and their main concern is the business surrounding the reserve. And business as usual means money. Sunday morning at 8:30am, when we were scheduled to set out for the day, Heike called a meeting. What we refused to believe a week ago has become reality.
On Friday afternoon the owners of the PGR had a meeting concerning the future of the elephants and their future management. Whether or not the main herd of elephants would remain on the reserve was put to vote. The main concerns surrounding the elephants are based on the environmental degradation they cause and the incident with the game vehicle being charged. Heinz, the owner of Leeuwspoor and the man who worked to bring the elephants to PGR 14 years ago, stood alone in voting for the elephants to stay. The majority vote determined that the main herd of elephants would be completely eradicated from the property. Whether or not the elephants will live to see a new environment has yet to be decided.
The first option for the herd is translocation. This would mean tranquilizing every member of the herd, moving them into trucks, and transporting them to a new property. Unfortunately, there are two obstacles in doing so. Firstly, the process and time it takes to relocate a herd of this size is incredibly expensive. Most of these expenses would have to be covered by the reserve receiving the elephants from the PGR. The other reason this option may fail is because it isn’t legal to translocate a herd of elephants more than once. Whether or not this law can be overlooked will depend on the worth of the lives of the elephants involved. This particular herd has many advantages though. The most recent calf born should technically be the last due to the vasectomies and the hormone treatments for the bulls. This means that this herd is static in terms of population growth. The bulls associated with the herd are also sterile. If a game reserve was interested in a herd it would make sense to introduce such a herd to avoid the problems that the PGR is now facing.
The second option is to eradicate the herd through a mass cull. Once the matriarch of the main herd, Antares, is taken down, the rest of the process would fall into place. Elephant herds are known to stay within the vicinity of their fallen matriarch to mourn making it easy to slowly eliminate each one. There are 48 members of the AB herd and 6 or 7 bulls that would be subject to this terror. The youngest member of the AB family is approximately four weeks old. When elephants are hunted for gaming purposes a permit is always required, but when it comes to extermination no such permits are needed.
With any luck, large corporations such as Disney and conservation groups such as Space for Elephants will step up to defend the lives of these amazing creatures. The worth of elephants in Africa has significantly decreased in the last few decades. The appeal they once had has vanished and tourists just aren’t as interested as they used to be. On the Pongola Game Reserve the elephants serve no purpose other then to be viewed by the occasional guest. The reserve caters to the hunter, and a species of animal that threatens the environment for the game animals are a threat that can’t be ignored. Looking around the PGR you can see the elephants’ presence everywhere in the form of elephant paths and massive footprints. Knowing that the PGR is home to over fifty elephants is enlightening and seeing them in the flesh is absolutely breathtaking. To condemn these animals because of an environmental problem that can’t even be proven as of yet is not only an example of human ignorance but also of how we, as humans, deal with any problems of such scale.
Hearing the words Heike had to tell us was a slap in the face. Here we are, volunteer students trying to help find a solution for the population problem the PGR has been faced with. As of now, finding the motivation to continue with our work, in vain, may prove to be harder than I think. Although the news pertaining to the herd was difficult to accept, the hardest part of this ordeal will be the emotional side of things. Especially for Heike. Heike has played a role in the daily lives of the elephants for two years; she has been there everyday, witnessing the good and the bad. The elephants are her life and I am sure she will do anything to prevent the worst. I was more angered by the news than sad. I’m not one to become emotional about these types of situations but the severity and scale of this one will not be overlooked in my mind. Hopefully, with the use of our knowledge and persuasion, we can work to save the lives of the animals we have come to know and love.
No comments:
Post a Comment