More buffalo are introduced into GNP
Sep 29, 2009 - Gorongosa National Park
The animals seemed to immediately adapt to their new home
From the 21st of the current September, Gorongosa National Park (GNP) has possessed 54 more buffalo.
They are large-scale herbivores translocated from South Africa, in the scope of restoring the wild fauna that was drastically reduced because of the predatory actions of the last armed conflict.
The 54 animals, from young to adult, of a group of a hundred buffalo to be introduced into the ecosystem of "Great Gorongosa" until next October, is a donation of Kruger National Park announced two years ago by its then director, Dr. Bandadile Mkihze. The beneficiary handled only the expenses of capture and transport.
They are large-scale herbivores translocated from South Africa, in the scope of restoring the wild fauna that was drastically reduced because of the predatory actions of the last armed conflict.
The 54 animals, from young to adult, of a group of a hundred buffalo to be introduced into the ecosystem of "Great Gorongosa" until next October, is a donation of Kruger National Park announced two years ago by its then director, Dr. Bandadile Mkihze. The beneficiary handled only the expenses of capture and transport.
The mammals arrived in three trucks with trailers and the respective release was in the “boma” or corral, in the interior of the Wildlife Sanctuary of GNP, in order to recuperate from the stress and dehydration as a consequence of a 2-day journey.
One of the transport trucks arriving at GNP
The process to evaluate their state of health started in South Africa, after having the animals examined and tested according to the requirements required by the National Veterinarian Directorate of Mozambique. The animals will remain in observation for 15 more days, after which they will be liberated into an adaptation area of 6.000 hectares.
Animals in recuperation and observation in the "boma"(corral) of the Wild Life Sanctuary of Gorongosa National Park
The Wild Life Sanctuary of approximately a 36 km perimeter, sealed with an electrified fence, protects the reintroduced animals from their natural predators and from the covert hunters that are still very active in the Park.
The mission went successfully. According to Dr. Carlos Lopes Pereira, "success depends on teamwork, a great capacity for organization and coordination between the people directly and indirectly involved in the operation, as well as the cooperation of the customs authorities at the border of Giriyondo and at Limpopo National Park represented by the respective administrator, Baldeu Chande." Despite the very bad road conditions in the region of Giriyondo there was only the complaint of the loss of a calf that died crushed by the other animals during the journey.
The director of the Department of Conservation, Dr. Carlos Lopes Pereira
A traditional ceremony was carried out by a chief on the 23rd day of the current month as local cultural rules dictate. The prayers of Maneca Luís Chicare spoken in Chisena, accompanied by the rhythmic clapping of those present served to get to know and ask the protection of the spirits of the ancestors of the region for the animal newcomers. He also asked the "owners of the land" to give their blessing to the Park with an aim to repopulate itself after the effects of the 70s in the smallest space of time possible.
Ritual of the traditional ceremony
Remember that GNP had more than 14 thousand buffalo in the 70s, but in the 90s, after the Civil War, this wildlife population was reduced to barely 60. However, current projections indicate the existence of around 300 animals as result of the reproduction of the effective survivors and of the animals species that were translocated, like well as of the breeding of the introduced animals whose first group already includes a third generation.
Carlitos Sunza
Department of Communications/GNP
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