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Ever since I was knee high to a grasshopper I have had a fascination with the Knysna Forest and the elephants that live there.
Reading Kringe in 'n Bos last week kind of brought some of that mystery and excitement back to me and I decided to read up a bit more on the subject.
I know that the introduction of Kruger elephants into the forest did not work, and they were removed. It was also believed that the last remaining native elephant had died but apparently they have recently found traces of three young elephants in the forest, leading conservationists to believe that there may yet be a relic population surviving there.
I am over the moon about this and am definitely going to spend part of my holidays tramping through the Knysna Forest. I know the chances of seeing an elephant are even less than that of seeing a Loerie, but it is the possibility that makes it so exciting.
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Quote:Originally posted by Icecub
take me with you......as u will see in my home i am nuts about elephants......
*adding name to list of people to bring back elephant curious for*
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I wonder if Congo elephants would work in the Knysna forest? (them being used to forests and all)
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Quote:Originally posted by eteechah
I wonder if Congo elephants would work in the Knysna forest? (them being used to forests and all)
The Central African forest elephant is a confirmed sub-species now and is also critically endangered so intermixing with the existing blood would be a big no no.
Incidentally the elephant used in the film adaptation of Kringe in 'n Bos was later found to be of the Central African strain. He had been imported from America for the shoot and died a few years later of an infection (I think from a tusk he broke trying to break through ice to drink water). Long time ago, some facts are vague...
The Knysna elephants are not a subspecies as such, but applying the theory of genetic drift, they would be more closely related to the Addo elephants than the Kruger elephants. Also, the Addo lot are used to reasonably dense scrub and near identical vegetation and might catch on quicker to the forest environment than the Kruger lot did.
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Quote:Originally posted by Bushbaby
The Central African forest elephant is a confirmed sub-species now and is also critically endangered so intermixing with the existing blood would be a big no no.
Thats sort of why it might be a good idea to establish a herd elsewhere away from the Congo and the wars, etc. And it's unlikely that the few remaining elephants in Knysna will be able to cause too much problem to the Congo strain - assuming they translocate enough of them. Of course, the vegetation differences are a problem, but surely one that could be sorted with the usual acclimatisation process.
Then again, who'd want to pay that sort of money for an operation that size and expense?
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Quote:Originally posted by eteechah
Thats sort of why it might be a good idea to establish a herd elsewhere away from the Congo and the wars, etc. And it's unlikely that the few remaining elephants in Knysna will be able to cause too much problem to the Congo strain - assuming they translocate enough of them. Of course, the vegetation differences are a problem, but surely one that could be sorted with the usual acclimatisation process.
Then again, who'd want to pay that sort of money for an operation that size and expense?
There is also the argument that both populations are effectively extinct anyway, as there are too few individuals with too narrow a gene pool to sustain the population, let alone regenerate it.
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Quote:Originally posted by Sally
Hi
We went to an elephant rescue park in the knysna forest last April .the work they are doing is marvellous well worth a visit to anyone going
Sally
I read about this online - they have recently celebrated the birth of their first elephant at the park. Think they named her Thandi.
Looks like I will be hiring a car when I head south this year...
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Quote:Originally posted by Sally
Hi
We went to an elephant rescue park in the knysna forest last April .the work they are doing is marvellous well worth a visit to anyone going
Sally
http://www.knysnaelephantpark.co.za/
Worth every penny, just dont agree with the public feeding them fruit every 30min.
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Quote:Originally posted by Mark
http://www.knysnaelephantpark.co.za/
Worth every penny, just dont agree with the public feeding them fruit every 30min.
We stopped the public from feeding our elephants and giraffe about two years ago as they were overweight (kinda hard to tell on an elephant but they were). Since then they have been on a controlled diet and have had to be exercised daily in addition to their normal browsing pattern. They are now much slimmer and healthier looking animals.
Given that these Knsyna Park elephants are semi free range is it safe to assume they get quite a bit of exercise?
