Translocating African Elephants -- Kenya

DIFFUSING HUMAN-ELEPHANT CONFLICT IN KENYA
Mzee weighs 4.2 metric tonnes (4.6 tons). And he is aggressive. He is a bull elephant, one of the 56 elephants targeted to be translocated from Ol Pejeta Ranch to Meru National Park in July 2001. He and his kin used to break out of the fences at Ol Pejeta Ranch in Kenya's Laikipia District and destroy the crops on the small farms in nearby communities. There was not enough food on the enclosed Ranch to sustain so many elephants; the population had grown to 125 and is also home to 40 rhinos and 500 giraffes. Translocating Mzee and the other elephants defused an escalating conflict with local people that had threatened the well being of both. The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) teamed up with IFAW, the Born Free Foundation and Ol Pejeta Ranch, a private game sanctuary, for the move -- the largest-ever translocation of elephants in East and Central Africa. Moving the elephants, both individuals and families, reduced the huge animals' impact on the local habitat, eased pressure on the area's vegetation, saved the local people's crops, and helped restock the elephant population in Meru National Park. By 24 July, more than 50 of the 56 elephants targeted had been successfully translocated, including eight bulls and six family groups. Unfortunately, two elephants died in the process. One calf -- which did not join its mother when it was released into the Park -- had to be airlifted to the Daphne Sheldrick Animal Orphanage to protect it from predators. Four of the elephants now at Meru were fitted with radio-collars to monitor their movements. IFAW provided on-site assistance for the relocation and contributed the funds needed to purchase equipment, veterinary drugs and aerial support, and to modify transport containers. To capture Mzee, his eight bull-elephant colleagues, and nine family groups and relocate them to Meru Park, three things were needed: planning, preparation and dedication. An intensive planning process by the Kenya Wildlife Service, IFAW, Born Free Foundation and Ol Pejeta Ranch ensured that the translocation would run smoothly. For about five months before the exercise began, a four-member team monitored the elephants’ movements and learned about their social structures. At the same time, the Kenya Wildlife Service capture team prepared the required equipment. By end of June, the team was ready. They set up a camp on the Ol Pejeta Ranch that would be their home for more than three weeks. The vehicles used in the effort included three low-loader trucks, one tractor for hauling elephants into crates, one Hannibal truck to load the crate onto the low-loaders, and one bulldozer for clearing paths for the capture team. A number of small four-wheel-drive vehicles to access the scrubland plains, a fixed-wing aircraft and a helicopter were also involved.

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HEAVY LIFTING
The capture process begins with the aircraft flying over the plains to locate the elephants. Once they are sighted, the pilot radios the helicopter and the capture team on the ground. Two veterinarians dart an elephant with a tranquilizer shot from the low-flying 'copter. In the case of a family group, the matriarch is darted before the other family members. This ensures that the group remains together; normally they will not stray far from their matriarch. Once the tranquilizing drug has an effect, and the darted elephant is almost on the ground, the chopper sets the vets down near the elephant. Communication with the ground team is constant. This team drives as fast as possible to the site where the immobilised elephant lies. The elephant is trussed up with ropes, its condition constantly monitored by the vets. The elephant is then hauled onto a conveyor belt by as many as 30 men, and the trailer pulls the belt near a crate lying on its side. The elephant is hauled into the crate, the doors are secured and the crate is placed upright. This process ensures that the elephant is in a standing position as it is transported to its new home. A vet then gets into the crate, injects the elephant with an antidote to revive it, and hurriedly gets out. The Hannibal truck -- which uses hydraulics lifts -- picks up the crate and places it into a low-loader, ready for the move. The whole capture-and-loading operation for one elephant takes an average of 45 minutes.

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A WIN-WIN SITUATION: FOR ELEPHANTS AND PEOPLE
More than 125 elephants lived in the Sweetwaters Sanctuary section of Ol Pejeta Ranch -- an area of about 90 square kilometers (35 square miles) set aside for the conservation of the endangered black rhinoceros. The sanctuary also accommodates 40 rhinos and 500 giraffes. These combined densities were well beyond the carrying capacity of the Sanctuary, hence the need for translocation to Meru National Park. Meru National Park once accommodated more than 3,000 elephants, but widespread poaching in the 1960s and early 1970s decimated the population. KWS -- with IFAW's help -- has improved Park security and management so that it is once again a safe haven for elephants and other wildlife. The Park is within the Northern Wildlife Conservation & Tourism Area, an area of approximately 40,000 square kilometers (15,444 square miles) that includes Kora National Park, and the Bisinadi and Mwingi National Reserves. Today, elephants are free to roam over thousands of acres of protected land.