LUCKY 13 GIRAFFES FOR MALAWI
Thirteen giraffes have been successfully introduced into Malawi’s Majete Wildlife Reserve, marking the first-ever introduction of this species into any of Malawi’s national parks. In October, nine giraffes were moved 2,500km by road from a private reserve in SA, while four were moved from a private reserve in Malawi. According to Malawi Tourism, the move is particularly historic since very few of Southern Africa’s robust giraffe population are to be found in that country. The translocation brings the national number of giraffes to just over 30.
The 700km² Majete Wildlife Reserve, in the southwest, was established as a protected area in 1955 but the reserve’s animal populations were decimated during the late 1970s and 1980s due to poaching and other human activities.
The Malawi News Agency quoted Craig Hay, Majete’s park manager, as saying the 13 giraffe were part of “a host of other animals, 2,900 from 14 species including elephants, rhinos, lions and buffalo” which had been reintroduced to Majete in the past few years.
African Parks, a non-profit that helps Malawi’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife run the park, reports that not one rhino or elephant has been lost to poaching since their introductions in 2003 and 2006.