In partnership with Eco-Exist, Wilderness Safaris will collar 10 elephants in 2021, in an effort to learn more about elephant movement patterns, and thus identify potential elephant corridors between rural communities to limit human-wildlife conflict. Once established, it is hoped that collaborative management of the corridors would enable ongoing free movement of elephant between Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Angola. The six-night, conservation-driven safari will combine three nights at Vumbura Plains, a premier camp in the heart of the Okavango Delta, with a three night stay at Wilderness Safaris’ newest offering, DumaTau, another premier camp set to open later this year. Guests will be able to spend time with an elephant researcher at DumaTau, as well as take a helicopter ride to visit the Eco-Exist research base, learn more about human-wildlife conflict and the work being done to address it, meet the local Kgosi (chief), and help to install a water hand-pump in the community. “With the data obtained from satellite collars fitted to elephants in the Linyanti, we can make an informed and important contribution to sustain a balance between the safety and livelihoods of local community members, and the necessary and natural unfettered movement of elephants between protected areas”, explains Dr Neil Midlane, Wilderness Safaris Group Impact Manager. “The entire value generated by this trip will be used to cover the costs of the collaring operation – veterinarians, helicopter time, capture drugs etc. – as well as the installation of a borehole pump in a nearby community that will reduce their need to travel long distances for water. Guests will also have the opportunity to assist with research and tracking of the newly collared elephants”, Wilderness Safaris Botswana MD Kim Nixon said.
