Elephant Relocation

Its wonderful that KWS took the decision to relocate the elephants to the Mara. I always worry, by moving the ele's, will they know where they can find water, where the best grazing is at given points in the year. Are they splitting up families and there social ties? But in reading the article, that would be their normal route (Narok to Mara) if settlement hadn't got in the way?

Another question that always springs to mind when I read about relocation of animals because of human wildlife conflict, wouldn't a cheaper option be to install electric fences around villages and crops? Obviously that's assuming they have a generator or a means to generate electric.

I'm glad the elephants got relocated rather than shot as the villagers seemed pretty angry in that write up, which I suppose you can understand if you lived there. The poor eles though as it seems that their pathway was obstructed by the village. I suppose thats the trouble with humans taking up more space, it encroaches on the elephants natural pathway, so the same would possibly be with the use of electric fences, it would stop them gwtting to their natural feeding grounds.
It's always hard sharing space and not having any conflict, just glad these eles have been saved.
I do wonder if it does them any harm though being hung upside down by their ankles with all that weight on the joint, suppose they know what they are doing though.

littlewid-x-

Strange you say that about the horses Doogs, as I was typing that post I thought of the horses and how they are winched up by their ankles and it made me think about their ankles being so slim compared to their bodies, but as you say, it must be the safest way to move large animals and it has been done many times.

littlewid-x-