Steuart Wright
THREE young elephants recently relocated to the Knysna forest are restless and somewhat aggressive in their new home — particularly since theyve been moved to a new, larger enclosure.
District forest officer Theo Stehle said the behaviour of the young cows had raised some concern that they were not yet ready to be released into the wild. They were shifted into a two-hectare enclosure at the weekend after being held in a small paddock for over a month.
On Friday we took down the fence between the two paddocks but they didnt venture out until Sunday. The moment they found they could get out, they bolted until they met up with the fence again.
The relocation is part of a programme to save the forests famous elephants, which numbered about 100 in the 1920s but has now dwindled to four.
We are very glad we decided to release them into the second camp and not directly into the open because they might have just run for it, trying to escape, he said.
He said Kruger National Park veterinarian Dr Cobus Raath was concerned that the elephants dash into the trees in the second boma indicated they were not yet used to the forest. — Ecna