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Elephant calf born following airlift to Angola
February 13, 2001

The first family group of elephants that were airlifted to Angola have a new addition to the family – a healthy calf of 4 weeks. The birth of the calf, the first elephant to be born in the Quiçama National Park in almost three decades, has come as a welcome sign of the elephants’ adaptation to their new home. “This is one small step for a baby elephant, but a giant leap for Angolan wildlife conservation,” says Prof. Wouter van Hoven, president of the Kissama Foundation.

The elephants were relocated to the Quiçama National Park from Madikwe Game Reserve during September 2000. The elephants were captured in family groups and transported to the park in an Illusion 76 aircraft. Their relocation caused great excitement amongst the people of Angola as well as the international conservation community. Hundreds of Angolans came to Quiçama to witness the first group of elephants being released.

A number of kudu and eland were also relocated to the Quiçama National Park shortly after the elephants, and the birth of an eland calf during December also confirms that they have settled in well.

The relocations of September 2000 form part of a project of the Kissama Foundation named “Operation Noah’s Ark”. The project involves the relocation of elephant, rhino, various antelope species and eventually predators to the Quiçama National Park. This massive relocation will span over the next four years and animals will be transported to the park by air as well as by sea. The Kissama Foundation has been mandated by the Angolan government to rehabilitate the country’s national parks, with the Quiçama National Park receiving first priority.