East London - The use of contraceptives for elephants as a management tool, initiated in Addo Elephant National Park last year, is continuing, with the latest round of vaccinations carried out at the end of June.
The initial vaccinations were administered to elephants in the Park’s Nyathi and Kuzuko sections last May, following the approval of the SANParks elephant management plan by the Department of Environmental Affairs in April.
The initial vaccination was followed by two boosters in July and August, and the elephant cows will now be vaccinated annually. The contraceptive is reversible and the cow will be able to conceive once she is no longer being vaccinated.
SANParks’ regional ecologist, Angela Gaylard, says: “These two sub-populations of Addo’s elephants are the only ones which are currently realistic and feasible to contracept, as they are relatively small populations. It becomes more complex once one deals with larger herds, such as in the park’s Main Camp and Colchester sections.
“The operation has run very smoothly to date. The main challenge from an operational side is finding all the individuals when they are in thick vegetation. Fortunately, the individuals from both the Nyathi and Kuzuko herds are normally close to one another, making the aerial vaccination that much easier,” Gaylard said.
The only other national park where contraceptives were administered has been in Kruger National Park, where trials were run in the late 1990s.
Addo is home to about 600 elephants in the Main Camp/Colchester, Nyathi and Kuzuko areas, growing at a rate of five to seven percent annually. As there has never been an attempt to control the population in the past, SANParks has consistently bought additional land to alleviate the impact of the expanding population on the parks vegetation.
Elephant cows have higher energy requirements when they are pregnant or lactating, and it is hoped they will use resources differently when they are not calving. SANParks also hopes to slow down the rate of the elephants’ impact on the vegetation.
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