Water for elephants - Towards natural population management

Abstract

Conservation The challenges faced by conservation management to safeguard biodiversity placed under their protection are, by and large, not new. However, the solutions are undergoing a major paradigm shift, and include new thinking on artificial water supplementation for game. In South Africa, environmental management has agrarian roots, ran by people who fought a constant battle against the elements and outside threats – they created waterholes in times of drought, erected fences when hunters devastated populations and, in some cases, controlled species’ numbers if they were perceived to become too many to be supported by the available habitat. The world-renowned Kruger National Park (KNP) is an example. Proclaimed a Government Wildlife Park by Paul Kruger in 1898 (and later expanded into the KNP in 1926) the initial goal was to control hunting and protect a diminishing number of animals. To further curb the spread of disease, facilitate border patrolling and stop animals from moving into areas where poaching was problematic, the park was fenced.

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