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ADDO ELEPHANT NATIONAL PARK HISTORY
Information and images provided courtesy of the Addo Elephant National Park
PARK HISTORY
In the early 1800's the area was full of wildlife, thousands of elephants, buffalo, rhino, zebra, giraffe but they were slowly destroyed the last lion was shot in 1849 and the last rhino in 1853. The Addo bush was however very thick and the elephants took shelter in the area, they also took on nocturnal habits. In 1918 there were approximately 140 left and a hunter Major Phillips Jacobs Pretorius was appointed to rid the area of the nuisance. He was pretty successful and in 14 months, managed to kill 114 and capture 7 which were sold to a circus.
By the time The Addo Elephant National Park was established in 1931 only 11 were left. It was not however until 1954 that a fence strong enough to contain the elephants was made, prior to this there had been many breakouts which created huge problems for the surrounding community. The fence which exists to this day was made from the tramlines removed from Port Elizabeth together with used steel wire from elevator shafts in the mines.
In the early centuries, when great herds of wild animals roamed the Addo region, the Khoesan of the Iqua, Damasqua and Gonaqua clans lived in the area. They hunted and kept cattle but tragically were largely wiped out in the 1700s by the smallpox epidemic. Nomadic Xhosa tribes had kraals in the area, including Chief Cungwa of the Gqunukhwebe (near the Sundays River mouth and inland) and Chief Habana of the Dange (near the Wit River).
The Addo Elephant National Park (AENP) was proclaimed in 1931 to protect the remaining 11 Addo elephants. The great herds of elephants and other animal species had been all but decimated over the 1700s and 1800s by hunters. In the late 1800s, farmers began to colonise the area around the park, also taking their toll on the elephant population due to competition for water and crops.
Public opinion then changed, leading to the proclamation of the park in 1931. The original size of the park was just over 2 000 hectares. Conflicts between elephants and farmers continued after proclamation as no adequate fence enclosed the park. Finally in 1954, Graham Armstrong (the park manager at the time) developed an elephant-proof fence constructed using tram rails and lift cables and an area of 2270 hectares was fenced in. There were 22 elephants at the time. This Armstrong fence, named after its developer, is still used around the park today. Although the park was originally proclaimed to protect a single species, priorities have now changed to conserve the rich biological diversity found in the area.
The Addo Elephant National Park (AENP) was proclaimed in 1931 to protect the remaining 11 Addo elephants. The great herds of elephants and other animal species had been all but decimated over the 1700s and 1800s by hunters. In the late 1800s, farmers began to colonise the area around the park, also taking their toll on the elephant population due to competition for water and crops.
Public opinion then changed, leading to the proclamation of the park in 1931. The original size of the park was just over 2 000 hectares. Conflicts between elephants and farmers continued after proclamation as no adequate fence enclosed the park. Finally in 1954, Graham Armstrong (the park manager at the time) developed an elephant-proof fence constructed using tram rails and lift cables and an area of 2270 hectares was fenced in. There were 22 elephants at the time. This Armstrong fence, named after its developer, is still used around the park today. Although the park was originally proclaimed to protect a single species, priorities have now changed to conserve the rich biological diversity found in the area.
NATURAL AND CULTURAL HISTORY
