ELEPHANTS in the Kruger National Park have been spared the bullet for this year, but their reprieve may be short-lived. “We will not be culling this year,” said Dr Leo Braack, general manager for the park’s conservation development department on Wednesday. “But if we are to cull, we will likely do so next year,” he said. The last elephant cull in the Kruger Park was conducted in 1994, when 312 elephants were darted with tranquilisers and then shot. Since then the elephant population in the 20000 square km park has grown to almost 9000 from around 7500, Braack said. South Africa, which also has ivory stocks, has not followed Namibia, Zimbabwe and Botswana in auctioning off ivory and the ivory from previous Kruger culls remains stored at a heavily guarded, secret location.