Sameera Casmod | sameerac@radioislam.co.za
8 April 2026 | 12:54 CAT
2-minute read

Image: Sameera Casmod

KwaZulu-Natal’s conservation authorities are sounding the alarm over rising elephant populations in key reserves, warning of an ecological crisis if urgent action is not taken. Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife has called for the relocation of hundreds of elephants, but there are concerns that culling may become unavoidable.

In various reserves across KZN, elephant populations have exceeded the parks’ ecological carrying capacity, necessitating the removal of over 1 000 elephants, particularly from Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park.

In an interview on Radio Islam International, Ecologist and Scientific Services Executive Manager at Ezemvelo, Ian Rushworth noted that while the increase in elephant populations signifies successful conservation efforts, the numbers are now too high.

“Elephant conservation is one of the success stories of South Africa where we’ve gone from elephants being almost entirely eradicated from the country to a point where they’ve been restocked in multiple areas and numbers are now increasing to the point, unfortunately, where they’re starting to have negative impacts on the habitats in those protected areas… and it has become necessary to manage numbers,” Rushworth said.

The province is a major hub for elephant conservation and is home to an estimated 2 862 elephants across 22 different properties, 60% of which are at full capacity.

Rushworth noted that efforts to reduce the growth rate of elephant populations in KZN have been in place for more than 10 years.

“All the KwaZulu-Natal wildlife elephant populations have been contraceptive for more than a decade and that has definitely reduced the growth rate – that reduces the impact. We’ve been also done a lot of work to look at expanding elephant range to increase the amount of habitat available for the growing populations,” he said.

For instance, Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park has undergone a 3 100 hectare expansion through a partnership with mFulaWozi Wilderness area to accommodate the growing elephant population.

Other initiatives include trans-frontier conservation initiatives to allow for movement of elephants across international borders. The Lubombo Transfrontier Conservation Area (LTFCA) is a trilateral agreement established in 2000 between Eswatini, Mozambique, and South Africa to link nature reserves, promote biodiversity, and foster eco-tourism across borders. The 11 169 square kilometre initiative connects protected areas, including South Africa’s Tembe Elephant Park and Songimvelo Nature Reserve.

Conservation authorities first try to relocate animals before resorting to culling them if population numbers exceed the limit. However, elephants require spacious reserves with the right vegetation that are adequately fenced, and there are a limited number of reserves in South Africa that meet these requirements.

“Unfortunately with nearly 100 properties across the country all looking to find homes for extra elephants, there’s a lot of competition between properties and sometimes we lose out to other properties that are able to find homes for their elephants, including Kruger Park that obviously has a lot of elephants,” Rushworth said.

While the priority is to move more than 900 elephants to other areas, over 100 may face culling due to extreme habitat damage.

The majority of removals are planned for Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park (650), followed by Ithala Game Reserve (170), Tembe Elephant Park (120), uMkhuze Game Reserve (50), and iSimangaliso Wetland Park (60).

Listen to the full interview with Ian Rushworth on Sabaahul Muslim, presented by Moulana Sulaimaan Ravat.