The Addo Elephant Park South Africa: an example of wildlife conservation that worked

Wildlife conservation in South Africa and around the world has its success stories and its failures. One of the biggest conservation success stories is that of the Addo Elephant Park in South Africa. It has become a popular destination, attracting tourists from all over the world who stay in some of the many Addo guest houses that are located in or next to the park. Some are privately owned, through a concession system and some are owned by the Addo Elephant Park itself. Accommodation ranges from luxurious to basic in all price ranges, much of it a far cry from the park’s humble beginnings as a place primarily for conservancy in areas where elephant populations are declining.

Founded in 1931, thanks in no small part to Sydney Skaife, the Addo Elephant Park in South Africa, named after the village of Addo that lies on the outskirts, began with just eleven elephants. The area of ​​the Eastern Cape in which the Addo Elephant Park is located was once home to huge herds of them, including the legendary Knysna Forest elephant. Due to the popular ivory trade combined with the relatively poor rural communities in the area, elephants were hunted to near extinction. In 1915, farmers in the Eastern Cape petitioned the government to have the remaining Eastern Cape elephants culled due to the nuisance they caused to agricultural activities. Commander PJ Pretorius set about exterminating the remaining Addo elephants and between 1919 and 1920 he shot 114 of them, capturing two others and selling them to the circus.

In 1929 Sydney Skaife established the Wildlife Conservation and Protection Society, now called the Southern African Wildlife Society. It was his concern over the destruction of wildlife in the KwaZulu Natal area caused by the tsetse control campaign that led him to form the society. He helped establish several game reserves, the most prominent being the Addo Elephant Park South Africa. He started with just the 11 elephants left in the vicinity and no real accommodation or guest houses to speak of and covered an area of ​​just 5,000 ha. Throughout the 20th century, the park underwent a great expansion.

Today, South Africa’s Addo Elephant Park covers 164,000 ha and there are plans to expand it to 360,000 ha. It currently includes a marine reserve making it one of the only places in the world where you can see the “big 7”, the original big 5 with the southern right whale and great white shark added to the list. Expansion was achieved largely through the purchase of farms from willing sellers around the reserve and the establishment of concessions that allowed the private sector to open Addo guesthouses and semi-private game reserves within the park boundaries. These Addo Guest Houses have played an important role in helping the conservation efforts of the Addo Elephant Park in South Africa by generating foreign income and, more importantly, interest in the park. This is helping to educate the world about the need for conservation like that practiced at the Addo Elephant Park in South Africa.