An elephant never forgets

Nicolize van Tonder

Pretoria - The old saying that an elephant never forgets appears to be true.

The remaining five Tuli elephants, who spent months under the media spotlight, were released back into the wild at the Marakele Game Reserve, near Thabazimbi in the Northern Province, just days after their arrival because they remembered their other fellow Tuli elephants that were already living in the park. 

The elephants were to have spent their first few weeks in the boma but after the five started "talking" to the other young Tulis who were already in the reserve, rangers and veterinary surgeons decided to release them immediately.

Martin von Kaschke, section game ranger at Marakele, said during a press visit to the park, that the last five Tuli elephants were brought to the reserve just before Christmas and had settled down nicely.

The animals were due to be housed in a boma for the first few weeks but, after only a few days, were released into the bush.

According to Von Kaschke, the main reason for this was that there was "communication" between the other four Tuli elephants that were living in Marakele.

Nine animals were brought to the park in August in a bid to reintroduce them into the wild. One of the elephants died of natural causes while four stuck to the bush surrounding the boma area.

A day after the remaining five elephants arrived in the park, the other four started "talking" to them. With raised trunks and tummies that rumbled, they welcomed the five newcomers.

After about five days, Von Kaschke and the veterinary surgeons decided to release them.

They went out into the bush and joined the others.

Fodder such as lucerne and pellets are still being put out for the elephants on a daily basis but their diet is now made up mainly of natural "bush food". Because they are originally from the wild, their chances of reintegrating are much greater.

Von Kaschke said that he was pleased that the remaining five elephants had been taken to Marakele because there was always the possibility that the young elephants were related and that now they had been reunited.

He said that when he or other reserve staff members travelled through the park, the elephants kept their distance. They are, however, not at all agressive, he said, adding that it appeared as if they were being accepted by the other elephant herds in the park. 

They might, at a later stage, be adopted permanently by one of these herds, probably by the matriach who leads a herd of about 20 elephants. This herd, and the other three in the reserve, were relocated about three years ago from the Kruger National Park. 

Five young elephants were spotted in the park during the press visit but they were too far off to determine whether they were the Tuli five. The park's vegetation was also extremely thick after the recent rains. On Friday morning about 100mm of rain fell in the reserve in only a few hours.

Von Kaschke said the Tuli elephants had proved a huge attraction, especially with visitors from Gauteng.

Courtesy Beeld