![\"Madikwe](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.animals24-7.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Picsart_25-06-11_15-56-48-411-scaled-e1749682639602.jpg?ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/p>\n(Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n PRETORIA,\u00a0 South Africa<\/strong>\u2013\u2013Starving elephants at the Madikwe Game Reserve in northern South Africa appear to be hostages to management demand to reintroduce trophy hunting,\u00a0 more than a decade after hunting there was stopped.<\/p>\n Only 132 road miles from Pretoria,\u00a0 the South African national capitol,\u00a0\u00a0 the 290-square-mile Madikwe Game Reserve is among the most visited tourist destinations on the African continent.<\/p>\n Designated in 1992 on depleted former farmland just south of the Botswana border,\u00a0 opened in 1994,\u00a0 Madikwe was populated with wildlife by Operation Phoenix.<\/p>\n (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Heralded at the time as a major conservation success,\u00a0 Operation Phoenix relocated to Madikwe entire breeding herds of elephants,\u00a0 rhinos,\u00a0 Cape buffalo,\u00a0 multiple species of antelope,\u00a0 and eventually predators including lions,\u00a0 cheetahs,\u00a0 hyenas,\u00a0 and African wild dogs.<\/p>\n Overlooked was that the arid,\u00a0 rocky Madikwe habitat and surrounding region had never hosted large numbers of many of those species.<\/p>\n There had never been elephants in or around the areas bordering the reserve,\u00a0 according to\u00a0North West Parks & Tourism Board ecologist Pieter Nel.<\/p>\n But the elephants thrived nonetheless,\u00a0 for a time.<\/p>\n (National Council of SPCAs photo)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Now,\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cMore than 1,000 starving elephants may have to be culled,\u201d\u00a0 reported Don Pinnock of the leading South African opposition news website Daily Maverick<\/em> on June 11, \u00a02025,\u00a0 with a governmental decision due by the end of the week.<\/p>\n \u201cIn a scathing parliamentary session on June 10,\u00a0 2025,\u201d\u00a0 Pinnock wrote, \u00a0\u201cmembers of the Portfolio Committee on Forestry, Fisheries & the Environment accused North West officials of gross mismanagement and evasion of responsibility for the ongoing elephant crisis in the Madikwe Game Reserve.<\/p>\n \u201cThe crisis, years in the making, has led to mass starvation and death among elephants, extensive environmental degradation, \u00a0and a controversial proposal to cull as many as 1,200 elephants.\u201d<\/p>\n (National Council of SPCAs photo)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Madikwe Game Reserve elephant population has increased to about 1,600 elephants \u2013 \u201cmore than triple the reserve\u2019s original carrying capacity of 500, \u00a0and more than six times the 250-elephant maximum suggested by early management plans,\u201d\u00a0 Pinnock summarized.<\/p>\n The elephant population density within the Madikwe Game Reserve has risen to 2.7 per square kilometer,\u00a0 more than triple the average of .79 elephants per square kilometer in South African state-managed parks.<\/p>\n Now from 70 to 80 elephants have \u201cdied of starvation since August 2024, \u00a0with many more in advanced stages of malnutrition,\u201d\u00a0 Pinnock wrote.<\/p>\n (National Council of SPCAs photo)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Testified Douglas Wolhurter, \u00a0Wildlife Protection Unit manager for the National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals,\u00a0 \u201cThe elephant population did not explode overnight \u2013 these animals breed slowly.\u00a0 Every warning sign was ignored.\u201d<\/p>\n Resumed Pinnock,\u00a0 \u201cQuestions by a number of parliamentarians cut to the heart of the crisis: why were long-term preventative measures like immunocontraception denied by the North West Parks & Tourism Board even though they were offered repeatedly for free by Humane World for Animals,\u201d\u00a0 formerly the Humane Society of the U.S., \u00a0\u201cin 1998, 2020 and 2023.\u201d<\/p>\n (National Council of SPCAs photo)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n And why was the National SPCA,\u00a0 Pinnock asked,\u00a0 \u201cdespite their legal mandate under the Animals Protection Act, \u00a0excluded from the second and subsequent meetings of the provincial task team overseeing the crisis response? \u00a0Why has no independent investigation been launched?<\/p>\n \u201cJonathan Denga, \u00a0acting chief executive of the North West Parks & Tourism Board, confirmed that the province had known about the issue for years but offered no justification for the failure to act,\u201d\u00a0 Pinnock wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, the elephant population is a serious problem,\u201d Denga told the parliamentary committee on Forestry, \u00a0Fisheries & the Environment.<\/p>\n \u201cBut many of the management options have been exhausted,\u201d\u00a0 Denga claimed,\u00a0 even though some,\u00a0 like immunocontraception of elephants,\u00a0 successful for decades elsewhere,\u00a0 have yet to be tried on a serious scale.<\/p>\n Donald Trump Jr. after 2012 elephant hunt in Zimbabwe.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/em>(Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n What the North West Parks & Tourism Board is trying to do,\u00a0 and has been trying to do for more than a decade,\u00a0 is re-introduce trophy hunting,\u00a0 once allowed but long suspended.<\/p>\n \u201cA tender issued in May by the North West Parks & Tourism Board proposes the trophy hunting of 25 elephants, \u00a0two black rhinos and 10 buffalo in Madikwe,\u201d\u00a0 Pinnock mentioned.<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough sold as a \u2018game reduction\u2019 strategy,\u201d\u00a0 Pinnock said, \u00a0\u201ccritics argue that the tender was rushed, \u00a0non-transparent and economically motivated.\u201d<\/p>\n In other words,\u00a0 someone hoped to pocket large sums of money from trophy hunters instead of grafting from the much larger but harder to tap cash flow through dozens of tourism lodges,\u00a0 camera safari concessionaires,\u00a0 and other businesses catering to visitors that cumulatively employ more than 1,000 people.<\/p>\n (Beth Clifton photo)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n African Geographic <\/em>shed further light on the situation on June 5, \u00a02025.<\/p>\n Altogether,\u00a0 the North West Parks & Tourism Board \u201cinvited proposals from professional hunters, outfitters, \u00a0and culling teams to hunt wildlife in 14 provincial reserves during the 2025\/2026 financial year,\u201d\u00a0 African Geographic<\/em> said.<\/p>\n The proposal to expand elephant and rhino trophy hunting to Madikwe is championed by Bitsa Lenkopane,\u00a0 heading the North West\u00a0Department of Economic Development, Environment, Conservation and Tourism.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have relationships with different organizations like the Professional Hunters\u2019 Association of South Africa,\u201d \u00a0Lenkopane told African Geographic<\/em>. \u00a0\u201cWe take them seriously and we also view their issues as seriously as we view the issues of communities.\u201d<\/p>\n The Big Five whose heads are coveted by trophy hunters: rhino, elephant, lion, leopard, Cape buffalo.<\/strong><\/em> Reported African Geographic,<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cIn January 2025, \u00a0Lenkopane attended the Dallas Safari Club Annual Convention & Sporting Expo \u2013 arguably one of the largest annual gatherings of hunters in the USA. Lenkopane stated her visit aimed to \u2018attract foreign investment in order to revitalize the North West Province\u2019s protected areas network and enhance contribution to South Africa\u2019s biodiversity economy.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cThe North West government asserted at the time it was working closely with the Professional Hunters\u2019 Association of South Africa and the Custodians of Professional Hunting & Conservation South Africa to resolve \u2018concerns regarding export quota processes.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Cape buffalo and black rhino as well as elephants may be targeted in Madikwe,\u00a0 African Geographic<\/em> indicated,\u00a0 because the black rhino and buffalo populations \u201care non-translocatable due to the presence of bovine tuberculosis in the reserve.\u201d<\/p>\n (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Big Five hunting in Madikwe \u201cwas phased out in the mid-2000s,\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0African Geographic<\/em> said,\u00a0 after \u201cGuests complained about reduced sightings\u201d of the Big Five species:\u00a0 elephant,\u00a0 rhino,\u00a0 buffalo,\u00a0 lion,\u00a0 and leopard.<\/p>\n Citing the findings of Pieter Nel,\u00a0 Green Guardian<\/em> reporter Sheree Bega exposed elephant starvations at Madikwe on December 14,\u00a0 2024.<\/p>\n \u201cPlans are under way to euthanize starving elephants,\u201d\u00a0 Bega revealed.<\/p>\n Drought and uncontrolled growth of the elephant population are the main drivers of deaths in Madikwe,\u201d\u00a0 explained Bega.<\/p>\n (Beth Clifton collage) <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n But since then,\u00a0 \u201cUnprecedented rainfall,\u00a0 more than double the typical amount,\u201d\u00a0 in February 2025 \u201ccaused the Molatedi Dam in Limpopo to overflow,\u201d\u00a0 resulting in flooding along the Marico River that closed two Madikwe Game Reserve tourist lodges,\u00a0 reported Dale Hes for Travel News South Africa<\/em>.<\/p>\n Two months previously,\u00a0 Nel told Bega that the Madikwe elephant population had recently exceeded the park carrying capacity.<\/p>\n \u201cHe noted that earlier in the year there were no signs of any stress among the elephants,\u201d\u00a0 Bega wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cThen in August and September 2024 things escalated and we had these mortalities,\u201d\u00a0 Nel explained. \u00a0\u201cIt shows you that there\u2019s a very fine balance and the moment you pass that threshold, \u00a0everything collapses.\u201d<\/p>\n (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The National SPCA had already euthanized several starving elephants.<\/p>\n \u201cOutside Madikwe\u2019s fence line is an abundance of nutritional vegetation, \u00a0a stark comparison to what Madikwe has to offer the animals within the confines of the reserve,\u201d\u00a0 Douglas Wolhuter told Bega.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not \u2018nature\u2019 or \u2018nature\u2019s way,\u2019\u201d\u00a0 Wolhuter said, \u00a0\u201cas this is a man-made disaster, \u00a0with years of inaction addressing the overpopulation and lack of vegetation, \u00a0and increasing bush encroachment.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is a travesty that this reserve cannot ensure the welfare and well-being of the animals,\u201d Wolhuter continued.<\/p>\n (Beth Clifton collage) <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Madikwe reserve management,\u00a0 Wolhuter charged,\u00a0 \u201cobserved the suffering unfold before them and did nothing.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, \u00a0we need to drastically reduce the numbers to bring us back to a situation where the system can properly recover and we can have those big trees, \u00a0all of those things, \u00a0coming back,\u201d Wolhuter continued, .<\/p>\n Wolhuter lamented that \u201cnon-lethal methods of managing the elephant population\u201d other than immunocontraception, \u00a0which was not tried,\u00a0 \u201cdidn\u2019t yield the desired results.<\/p>\n \u201cThere were real opportunities of expanding the park, \u00a0and there were some opportunities for translocation, \u00a0which unfortunately never materialized,\u201d\u00a0 Wolhuter said, \u00a0\u201cand that brought us to the situation where we are now. \u00a0Now, \u00a0we will have to look at other ways, including lethal options.\u201d<\/p>\nElephant overpopulation was preventable & manufactured at the Madikwe Game Reserve<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nOperation Phoenix brought elephants<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cMore than 1,000 starving elephants may have to be culled\u201d<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nElephants at three times carrying capacity<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cPopulation did not explode overnight\u201d<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nWhy was National SPCA excluded?<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cGame reduction strategy\u201d\u2018<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nInvited proposals from hunters & outfitters<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n
(Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\nDallas Safari Club Expo<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nBig Five hunting \u201cphased out\u201d at Madikwe<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nFrom drought to flooding<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cThis is not \u2018nature\u2019 or \u2018nature\u2019s way\u2019\u201d<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nMadikwe management \u201cobserved the suffering & did nothing\u201d<\/h2>\n