6000 of the 7500 animals will be taken from Zimbabwe while the remaining will be brought in from around Mozambique. The intention is to reintroduce wildlife into Zinave, which has now been declared a national park after losing much of its wildlife population to hunting and civil unrest.
The goal is to restore normal migration patterns while at the same time providing benefit to local communities by increasing wildlife tourism. The project is estimated to take about three years to complete, but the first leg has already begun.
The process officially started last October with the movement of more than 300 animals out of South Africa’s Maremani Nature Reserve and the Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique.
The first 2000 animals are being moved out of the Savé Valley Conservancy in southern Zimbabwe to Zinave National Park in Mozambique. According to a news report put out by All Africa, nearly 50 elephants, 200 zebra, 100 giraffe, 900 impala, 200 buffalo, 200 eland antelope, 300 wildebeest and 50 kudus will be the first to make the journey.
“This process is a beautiful and fulfilling task and nothing shows our ecological success more than our gift of over 6000 animals to re-establish the Zinave National Park,” stated Wilfried Pabst, owner of the Sango section of the Savé Valley Conservancy.
The cost of this massive migration will amount to more than $2.5 million — but the results could be extraordinary.
Watch this video below to learn about how giraffes are transported.