Update

KNYSNA NEWS - After a sighting of the elusive Knysna elephant last week, SANParks is finalising a revised elephant management plan that could affect Knysna's last elephant.

According to Megan Taplin, park manager of the Knysna Lakes section of the Garden Route National Park, the plan is in line with the national elephant management protocol prescribed by the Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Environmental Affairs. 

Taplin said SANParks recently completed a public survey to highlight different management considerations, such as whether intervention is required, or to leave the situation as is.

"There will be engagement next year with stakeholders on results of the survey and the way forward with management of the elephant," she said.

The elusive and last surviving female Knysna elephant was spotted by forestry workers between Sedgefield and Wilderness.

The sighting happened early on Thursday morning, 14 November, and SANParks requested that the exact location not be made public.

"The sighting was in an area not accessible to the public," said Taplin. SANParks has some camera traps to monitor the elephant, as well as field rangers who monitor spoor and dung to give them an idea of the elephant's movements. 

"The elephant moves over quite a wide and long area between Knysna and Wilderness in the Garden Route National Park. She also uses routes on some of the properties bordering the park.

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