You will hear a presentation about relocating groups.
You will hear a presentation about relocating groups of elephants to a new reserve.
First, you have some time to look at questions 31 to 40.
Now listen carefully and answer questions 31 to 40.
In today's presentation, I'm going to explain how groups of elephants have been transferred to new reserves and established there.
This process, called translocation, has taken place in Malawi in recent years because elephant numbers in some areas had grown too high.
Overpopulation may sound like a welcome problem, and it is certainly unusual.
Poachers had previously eliminated the elephants in Mahieti National Park for their ivory.
However, the park was restocked in 2003, and strict law enforcement followed.
No elephants have been poached there since, and the protected population bred so successfully that the park could no longer support all of them.
This created several difficulties.
Competition for the limited food supply increased, leaving some elephants hungry and forcing them to search farther away.
They also regularly knocked down the fences around the park, and repairing them was expensive.
The solution was to transfer dozens of elephants from Mahieti to Nakotakota Wildlife Park, which had none.
Moving such large animals to a reserve 300 kilometers away was, of course, a considerable undertaking.
So, what did the translocation involve in practical terms?
The animals traveled in groups of eight to twenty, with every member drawn from the same family.
Their social bonds meant the whole group had to move together.
Vets and park rangers flew above them in helicopters, rounding up the selected elephants and directing them towards a designated open plane.
The vets then immobilized the animals using tranquilizer darts.
Choosing the correct dose for elephants of different sizes was difficult, especially while they were running.
The team also had to finish this stage rapidly, so that the stress caused was kept to a minimum.
Once the elephants started falling to the ground, staff immediately moved in.
There was a danger of suffocation if an elephant landed on its chest, because that position could compress its lungs.
Every animal therefore had to be rolled onto one of its sides.
A member of the team stayed beside each elephant, while the vets carried out checks.
Its breathing was monitored continuously.
Fewer than six breaths a minute required urgent treatment.
A tracking collar was placed on the matriarch of every group.
The team recorded measurements of each animal's tusks, since large tusks increased the risk from poachers and also measured its feet.
The elephants were moved to a recovery site, then loaded onto trucks for the journey to their new reserve.
The animals settled successfully at Nkota Kota, and the project benefited local people as well.
Employment opportunities rose substantially, improving living standards across the community.
Former poachers could now obtain dependable incomes, and many voluntarily surrendered their weapons because they no longer needed them.
More than 24 calves have been born since the relocation, and the park's 1,800 square kilometers provide ample room for further growth.
The elephants are helping to restore the damaged ecosystem, while the project offers a sustainable conservation model for other parks.
They have also attracted far more tourism, whose contribution to GDP is five times greater than that of the illegal wildlife trade.
Interest has continued to rise dramatically.
That is the end of part four.
