Every Child Need Male and Female Input - Part 2 & 3

Part 2

The Pilansberg Nature Reserve decided to populate their reserve with  elephant  babies taken from the kulls at the Kruger National Park.  The Rangers started to notice abnormal behaviour in the babies, they were  becoming destructive and realized that something had to be done if they were to keep the elephants and so they introduced two well known circus cows  “Oswalla and Durega”  into the park.  These became the matriarchs (see Back to Africa by Randall Moore), who consolidated the herd, and provided a stable structure to which more animals could be added

“The first indication of a problem came in March 1994 when game scout reports included an adult white rhino bull mortality. Despite some initial doubts that elephants could be responsible, by the end of May 1994 15 more white rhino carcasses had been found and elephants were now accepted as the culprits. Typically, the neck and shoulders had deep penetrating wounds and scratch marks extended all the way along the body. In some animals, the shoulder blades were smashed and/or the back was broken."

Part 3

"Typical of elephant populations established using young animals, they moved to the most remote area of the park, where they seldom encountered man. Annual aerial game counts provided some indication of the populations well-being but it was only when teenage bulls started leaving the matriarchal herds and moved out of the north western wilderness area that attention was drawn to the Pilanesberg elephants. In 1993 two teenage bulls attacked and killed a tourist. Both bulls were destroyed but the movement of bulls into the tourist areas continued.

As rhino mortalities increased a desperate attempt to correct the problem was made, and the closest elephant to each incident was culled, with three bulls being killed over the following weeks. The cause and extent of the problem was poorly understood.

Between February and April 1996, 12 more white rhinos were killed and solutions were again being sought. Rhino mortalities were spread evenly across most of the park. Field staff and guides frequently reported aberrant elephant behaviour, and it seemed only bulls were the culprits

A professional hunter and his client were contracted to cull the animal. The bull was killed but not before killing the professional hunter in a much publicised incident. The reputation of Pilanesberg’s elephant being out of control and attacking anything in their path became entrenched. Film crews from around the world contacted the park, hoping to film the "savage beasts".