23-03-2004, 04:57 PM
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.