South Africa has relocated 27 zebras and 62 blue wildebeests from Kruger National Park to Zinave National Park in Mozambique, said the South African government on Thursday.
South African Minister of Forestry and Fisheries and Environmental Affairs Barbara Creecy said the translocation is an important indication of how South Africa’s conservation success is contributing to the rewilding of Africa.
“The success of ongoing cross-border collaborations is an outstanding example of how African countries are working together to solve conservation problems and grow the eco-tourism sector,” she said.
Creecy said that South Africa has donated over 700 animals since 2018 to Mozambique to restock and rebuild key parks within the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area.
The ministry said the restoration of Zinave National Park has been one of southern Africa’s most remarkable conservation success stories.
After decades of human impacts severely disrupted the Park’s natural ecosystems and healthy wildlife populations, work began on restoring Zinave to its former glory in 2016, with the signing of a co-management agreement between Mozambique’s National Administration of Conservation Areas and Peace Parks Foundation which aims to re-establish, renew and conserve large ecosystems in Africa.
Through this partnership, significant investment has been directed towards enhancing conservation management, anti-poaching, infrastructure development, tourism development and community development interventions in the Park.
Today, thanks to wildlife donations from South Africa and Zimbabwe and through restocking from other areas in Mozambique, Zinave now boasts 13 species including impala, reedbuck, waterbuck, buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, giraffe, sable and elephant.
The Minister of Land and Environment of Mozambique Ivete Maibaze thanked South Africa for donating the animals.
“It is heartening to see how healthy populations of wildlife have stimulated the potential for increased tourism and related income opportunities in and around Zinave. The Park is set to become a major contributor to Mozambique’s eco-tourism economies,” she said.
“We highly value the cross-border partnerships that we have with our governmental partners in South Africa and with the Peace Parks Foundation. It is a wonderful example of how regional partnerships can contribute to building a more prosperous future for southern Africa and its people,” she said.
