Elephants in Maputo National Park, once numbering less than a hundred, have reached a population that exceeds the park’s capacity and increases conflicts with the local community, prompting officials to investigate different population control options, Lusa reports.
“Excess can become a problem,” park administrator Miguel Gonçalves told the Portuguese news agency, explaining that the elephants are already starting to have a significant impact on vegetation which in turn impacts other animal populations. It has also led many elephants to expand their range beyond the park, leading to conflict with people.
The park is now undertaking an assessment that will allow them to develop a “concrete plan for managing the elephants.” Gonçalves cited contraception to reduce the birth rate, and relocating elephants to other parks, as possible measures.
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The official census, carried out by aerial inspection, puts the elephant population in the reserve at 400 but park teams estimate the actual number to be just over 500. The noise of the helicopters, as well as abundant forests in the park, may be why the aerial count seems to fall short.
Having more concrete population numbers is critical for moving forward with measures like contraception. “[These] are not cheap operations and we need to know exactly what we are dealing with,” Gonçalves told Lusa.
Transferring elephants to other parks or conservation areas is another option. Gonçalves also expressed an openness to seeing more conservation areas around the park, which is located some 70 kilometres south of the capital.
