Johannesburg – Five of the eleven elephants that strayed into South Africa from Mozambique have been captured and relocated, said South African National Parks (SANParks) on Wednesday.
SANParks said 11 elephants strayed into the country via eSwatini and were roaming the Madadeni area in Mpumalanga.
The SANParks worked with Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA), using a helicopter and game capture trucks.
“This was a difficult and stressful operation, but we are happy at the turn of events and that the animals have been relocated to a safe area away from communities,” said Kruger National Park managing executive Gareth Coleman.
The elephants have been released in Mozambique's Shingwedzi Section, north of the Kruger National Park.
“We urge communities to alert officials when they observe animals outside the protected areas to stay away from these animals and allow conservation authorities the space to carry out their duties unhindered for the safety of both animals and humans,” Coleman said.
In the meantime, an African ministerial round-table meeting with the theme of tackling challenges for future investments in Africa's tourism industry was held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre during the three-day World Travel Market Africa, where the officials participated in person or virtually.
There are only about 70 million travellers among Africa’s 1.3 billion people, while only 26 African cities are connected to international standards.
African countries therefore need to improve connectivity by air and open up their skies to establish a domestic market, said Najib Balala, cabinet secretary for Tourism and Wildlife of Kenya.