The eight young elephants that survived burn injuries in veld fires in the Pilanesberg Nature Reserve will be released back into the wild.
The partnership formed by the North West Parks and Tourism Board and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said on Friday that the decision has been taken to take the animals home to Pilanesberg.
The elephants will be kept in bomas and will eventually be released to join herds. Three female elephants have already been identified as possible matriarchs for the orphaned elephants.
It is believed that they could even be the natural mothers of elephants that were injured in the fire and that they could possibly be reunited.
”The plan is to capture a matriarch who lost her sibling and to introduce her to the surviving elephants in the boma,” the partnership said in a statement. ”Depending on the speed of the bonding progress, the newly formed herd will then be released back into the park.”
It is not yet known when the elephants will be released back into the wild. — Sapa