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GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - As wildfires ravaged the Garden Route recently, the last thing on anyone’s mind was the fate of the handful of elephants that still roam the area, but local expert Gareth Patterson believes the beasts' cautionary and intuitive reaction to the wildfires might have saved them.
At least two of the soft-footed behemoths, it was discovered, moved together due south into deep, indigenous forest away from the mountain wildfires.
According to the internationally acclaimed Patterson, no sooner had the news of the fires spread across, than he started receiving queries from people who know about his ongoing research and from readers of his book on the Knysna pachyderms entitled The Secret Elephants.
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“Over the past two weeks or so people have contacted me enquiring about how our tiny Knysna elephant population – the world's most southerly free-roaming elephants – might have been affected by the wildfires in the mountains, as mountain fynbos comprises a large area of the Knysna elephants' range, and fynbos species are a significant part of the elephants’ diet,” Patterson told Knysna-Plett Herald recently.
He said that while the fires raged he felt fairly confident that the elephants would have sought refuge from the mountain wildfires deep within the naturally protected indigenous forests, “but I could not begin to determine this until this last Saturday (10 November) when with the mopping up operations, I could begin to look for signs of the elephants,” he added.
Signs of life
And lo and behold, Patterson came across such signs in the forest between Diepwalle and Gouna, including spoor, droppings and evidence of feeding, which indicate that at least two elephants probably made it to safety.
“It seems that two of the elephants, one approximately 17 or 18 years old and the other being an older adult, moved together south into deep indigenous forest and away from the mountain wildfires, approximately a week to 10 days ago,” he said.
Patterson added that he determined the age of the one elephant by hind foot track measurement.
The elephant man – also known as a bit of a lion expert after the recent release of his book Born to be Free which chronicles his life’s work with three lions and the "Lion Man of Africa" George Adamson – said he believes this movement by the two elephants is hopefully indicative of the cautionary and intuitive reaction to wildfires by the other elephants. “I am fairly sure the elephants are safe. That said, of course, one cannot ever be entirely sure until overall assessments of the impact of the wildfires by the authorities and stakeholders are completed in the weeks ahead. I am optimistic, though.”
Measuring the hind foot track to determine the elephant's age. Photo: Gilly Lamb
While conducting one of his Secret Elephants Forest Experiences with guests on 13 November, said Patterson, he found more signs of the two elephants that are moving together.
"Measurements of the hind foot track of the larger adult suggests that this elephant could be an adult bull. The two elephants had moved southwards then westwards into the central deep forest area. It seems, though I cannot confirm, that one other elephant is also in this part of the central forest area. Hopefully signs of the other elephants will be seen in other forest areas in the western portions of the elephants' range," he added.
* For information about the Secret Elephants Forest Experience, please email gpatterson@wispernet.co.za
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