The Mawana Elephants: Survival, Conflict, and Conservation in Zululand
- LionExpose
- Aug 5
- 5 min read
Updated: Aug 13
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Retracing the Mawana Elephants' Historic Route
"The elephants are shy. They come after sunset. When we make a noise, these elephants understand us - and they leave. But they come back later and eat at the back..."
We decided to retrace the historic route of the Mawana Elephants, as we hadn't covered the entire route since late 2024, following the roundtable meetings with Ezemvelo at the Ulundi offices. Encircling the route is the only way to truly experience how the Mawana elephants choose their habitat, and observing the changes in the landscape during different seasons is a significantly important part of this journey.
Traces of the Herd – Signs and Sightings
We arrived at various communities, sometimes just hours after the elephants had moved off. Their dung still warm, their urine still wet. On several occasions, while tracking them on foot, we could smell them nearby. Hiding.
Community Innovation – Thornbush Fences and Crop Protectio
The new thornbush fences one community has been building are incredible – they have been stacking these spiky bushes around their food gardens and mielie fields for a few months. It is a tremendous feat as these bushes are brutal! If you didn't know, many rural communities use these thorn bushes to build lion boma enclosures in areas where lions roam to protect their cattle and goats from predators. But here in Zululand it’s to protect their food from elephants. The rural farmers are determined to protect their crops and do this purely with machetes and bare hands.
Widespread Concerns – Land Issues and Lack of Communication
Many different communities explained how they feel neglected and uninformed, and many of these statements included contentious land issues, secrecy, confusing communication, and a lack of regional authorities in the area checking up on conflict, or the elephants. It is hard to keep up as these statements are widespread and from unrelated sources.
Against All Odds – The Surviving Elephants
But let's talk about the Mawana elephants and their incredible survival against all odds. Around 28 to 32 elephants are alive after the slaughter of nine last August on a local farm.
Fences, Farms, and Fragmented Routes
Rural land development is changing the landscape rapidly. This is for increased cattle and crop farming and the elephants are seemingly becoming trapped on their own route, as key areas have been cut off with fences. Recent expansion of one particular farm, which we are always welcomed onto is significant. You can now clearly see the development from across the valley. A mining company is also fighting to get the rights to explore an area closer to the Steadham side of the Valley. A local farmer told LionExpose that he is the only person who is trying to oppose it! Where are all the conservationists...
“Green Pen” or Game Reserve?
A green emergency pen area is being built slightly off the elephants' historic roaming route and not far from where nine were slaughtered on the 31st August, and is said to be a temporary measure to herd the Mawana elephants into. But we spoke to the developer, who said, “This will not be temporary, it will be a Game Reserve.” The “green pen area” is an extension of the current Inhlanhla Ranch, where a base has been set up, in a “deal” with the current owner, to build a conservation area. Inhlanhla Ranch was a previous hunting farm and while we were visiting they were apparently conducting the last hunting due to the new development. We were shown some of the fences being erected on, and also around, community farms belonging to the Malangane Community Trust, and also the Mawana Community Trust. The fences also go around the perimeter of the farm where the elephants were gunned down. This is a very challenging terrain and appears that it still has some way to go.
Community Tensions and Land Use Confusion
Communities on one side of this fence are being accused of stealing poles and vandalising the fence. LionExpose spoke to some of these communities and there is a definite sense of human rights abuse and fair say. There are around 2000 cattle within this pen/game reserve belonging to a local farmer who leased the land from "someone". From whom he leased it is unclear and who benefits from the rental is also unclear.
A Legal and Ethical Quagmire
We are unsure how legislation will go around all this as it truly is a quagmire. The area demarcated is around 8300 hectares, there are some communities within this demarcated area. The team erecting the fence is led by a local Vryheid man, and some local community members have jobs erecting these fences.
How Will the Elephants React?
How will the Mawana free-roaming elephants be safely and humanely herded away from the areas they roam and how will they react to being "pushed" slightly off their route and closer to where they were slaughtered, an area they have avoided. The free-roaming elephants' historic route is currently around 22,000 hectares.
Tracking Efforts – Collaring and Contraceptives
The good news is three elephants were collared in June. Two by HSIA, now HWA, who also restarted their contraceptive programme for the females. One was collared by the Inhlanhla developers. Interestingly two of the elephants that HWA collared were darted right inside Mawana Game Reserve – their original home. Two weeks ago, we also discovered an elephant collar in one of the community areas and we checked in with HWA who have no missing collars.
Grief and Adaptation – Elephant Trauma in the Landscape
Updates and Observations
The Mawana elephants are behaving much like war elephants. We wondered if the female cow with the young calf at foot that was gunned down last year on the 31st August was the matriarch. The traumatised survivors stayed close to the kill site for many days, but then they left the area and have since spent most of their time roaming on the parts of their route that are well hidden and away from the kill site. Occasionally, they come between some of the community fields in the Mawana Game Reserve area, but always late in the day or in the night. They are certainly favoring the areas of Mawana Mountain and several other land areas, which we will not name, but they are mostly in the mountains and the deep valleys.
Parliamentary Action and Elephant Monitoring
In a South African Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Environment meeting in late May, a heated session culminated in a set of urgent resolutions and the Parliament Portfolio Committee asked for a formal report to be submitted by the 7th of July. This report has now finally been submitted, yet the contents are not known. LionExpose also heard from Elephants Alive that they are finally beginning the training of Elephant Monitors. Three members of "some" of the communities have been selected to undergo this training, though we don't know what communities they are from, as there are several distinct community areas.
Final Thanks and Ongoing Hope
LionExpose would like to thank all the communities of Thaka Valley and the Ndunas of those communities for hosting us during our recent visit to check on the ongoing elephant saga. We were honored to attend an incredible traditional Zulu wedding in Steadham. We would also like to thank Mawana Game Reserve and Inhlanhla Ranch for showing us around their areas. With global attention on this Mawana saga and shockingly with little interest from so many Elephant organisations, we hope after seven long years, that these elephants and communities are given the protection and safety they deserve.
© LionExpose
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