2016

Repopulating Majete, Malawi, with giraffe

13 giraffe were translocated 2500km from South Africa to Malawi, establishing the founder population in the park

African Parks contracted us in 2016 to translocate 13 giraffe to Majete Widlife, completing one of the farthest translocations to date, covering over 2500km by road. This translocation aimed to establish a new population of the species in Malawi.  

Majete has been managed by the conservation non-profit African Parks in partnership with Malawi’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) since 2003, whose collaborative efforts have been hailed as a national success story for the restoration of its wildlife and the benefits the park provides to local communities. The introduction of giraffe will further enrich the reserve’s biodiversity, while helping to increase tourism to enhance the already emerging conservation-led economy and to additionally support community development.

As always, this translocation was the culmination of months of meticulous planning. 9 of the giraffe were sourced from a private reserve in South Africa, and the remaining 4 giraffe were relocated from Nyala Park, another reserve on Malawi.

While southern Africa has a robust population of giraffe, very few are present in Malawi, with this translocation bringing national numbers to just over 30 animals at the time. Broadly, giraffe numbers have plummeted in recent decades, with pressures including habitat loss, civil unrest and illegal hunting reducing them to fewer than 100,000 animals remaining on the continent.

The translocation of South African giraffe to Majete hopes to establish a viable population of the species to support their conservation across the region.