Journey into the Mopane ‘Seas’: Recollaring Elephants in the Kruger National Park

Throwback to an incredible day in 2021 spent recollaring elephants for Elephants Alive with Kayla Zoon

Written by: Robin Cook & Kayla Zoon

“It was only when the chopper lifted off the ground, with the mopane shrubs below growing smaller and smaller, that it really struck me as to what was happening. Ever since my nursery school days, my dream had been to do work in the Kruger National Park (KNP). Whilst the options growing up had changed from game ranger, to guide, to vet, to scientist, the dream had remained true. And there I was finally, as an Elephants Alive scientist, flying up into the sky with KNP’s Dr. Peter Buss, Brad Grafton, and Guy Hausler to recollar an elephant in the far north of the KNP.” - Robin

Robin Cook and Kayla Zoon were chosen to represent Elephants Alive and join the seasoned South African National Parks Kruger National Park employees, on an operation to recollar three of our study animals in northern KNP.

This was a unique experience as there was no ground crew, with just four people taking part in the entire operation. The elephants were darted from a chopper and once immobilised we landed to fit the collar, collect biological samples and take morphological measurements in a matter of minutes. We then took to the sky again to circle around the sleeping giants until they were back on all fours.

The first elephant to be recollared was WESSA, an adult bull who was first sighted and collared by Elephants Alive in 2006. He is named WESSA due to the WESSA Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA) sponsoring his collar. We are not often graced with his presence in the Associated Private Nature Reserves (APNR) and we therefore rely heavily on his satellite data and citizen science sightings submitted to us for updates.

The next part of the operation involved working with two elephant cows, Thandi and Tinky, who were first collared in Limpopo National Park (Mozambique) during 2016. Thandi’s collar was replaced and Tinky’s collar was removed as these two animals move together in the same herd so one’s movements is reflected by the other.

Elon, a young bull, was the last elephant to be recollared for the day. This bull was first collared in Balule PNR during an operation sponsored by the Young Presidents Organisation in 2017. Elon has blown us away by his vast and incredible movements from the APNR to northern KNP (Punda Maria region).

The operation was a huge success! We are eternally grateful to SANParks for their assistance and permission for the operation to occur. Thank you to the CAH Foundation for sponsoring the collars of Elon and WESSA. Thank you to Dr Michelle Henley for creating this opportunity to experience what every young scientist dreams of.

This was a day which both Robin and Kayla will never forget and will hold close to their hearts for many years to come!

“The experience was surreal, I find myself at a loss of words when trying to explain it. Only after climbing off the chopper and trading places with Robin, did it really dawn on me what had just occurred. My eyes welled up with tears as I processed the enormity of the situation and the incredible opportunities I’ve had working as a scientist for Elephants Alive. Kruger, with Letaba Rest Camp in particular, holds a special place in my heart. It was here, as a young adult, that I decided I wanted to work in the bush and conduct research on elephants, stopping at nothing to make this dream become a reality. Collaring elephants in Kruger and working with Dr. Buss, Brad, and Guy, has been the highlight of my career. During this collaring operation, I was completely star struck by working alongside the conservation heroes of KNP, their passion for wildlife conservation and protecting our last wild spaces is truly inspiring.” - Kayla

Robin’s words explain the emotions of the day so beautifully:

“In that short space of time, I felt as if I had learnt so much from our KNP mentors. Their behind-the-scenes dedication to the job, professional manner, and overall knowledge and passion cannot be described in a single blog post. It is reassuring to know that our nation’s wildlife is in their hands. We are grateful that our elephants don’t know about the political barriers between protected areas. Their movements will allow us at Elephants Alive to continue learning from professionals within Kruger each time we are blessed with a visit. Conservation is most successful when barriers are dropped, and that does not only refer to hard fence-lines. The sharing of knowledge, skills and data is equally important for the protection of our vast ecosystems, and in a world dominated by negative media, it is ever empowering to know that there are dedicated people out there doing whatever small amounts that they can to make a positive change.”