Early Morning Encounter
Near the Millwood Forest Station the fierce trumpeting of elephants fills the air soon followed by the barking and growling of dogs attacking a mother and her calf. The small herd retreat for cover quickly and silence reigns once again…but not for long…
There have always been elephants in the Knysna area but over the decades their plight has either been ignored or sidelined. In 1870 there were between 400 and 500 elephants in the forest but these numbers have dwindled, mostly due to hunting, to 5 (it was previously accepted that only one elephant had survived).
And now these magnificent creatures’ lives are being used as bargaining chips once more. In a trade-off between animal rightists and the Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, the moratorium on the culling of elephants has been lifted and the purchase of elephants out of the wild is now strictly prohibited. This, however, is not enough for Animal Rights groups as they feel that no elephants should be at home other than in the wild – rescued or otherwise.
…Then the sound of gunfire rings out and a majestic bull is brought down eight shots later – a wiry little man jumps on the body and stands there victoriously while the grand bull lifts his head defiantly to look at his enemy and then rolls over on his side to die…
The Knysna Elephant Park’s charter reads: ‘Our commitment to the environment is born of the struggle by the elephants in the Knysna forest,’ and as you speak to the handlers and interact with the elephants, one’s mind runs wild with thoughts of the elusive elephants that have captured the imaginations of so many and have inspired authors such as Dalene Mathee to write novels like Circles in a Forest.
While there are those who believe that elephants like Harry, Sally, Shaka, Namib, Keisha and Thandi should not have been rescued out of the wild (they are all either orphans or have been rescued from culls) – I do believe that we would be the poorer for not having known them. We reach the lapa for our early morning experience and even though we are now quite used to being in the presence of these breathtaking creatures I still get a lump in my throat when I see them – not because I am in any way sad but because elephants really do touch your soul. We were introduced to the ellies we would be riding and as Shaka rose from the ground with me on his back I began to appreciate the true size of these animals. The sensation one experiences as you rub the elephant’s back is one of wonder and appreciation as the bristly hair and coarse skin passes under palm.
As the Kruger National Park readies itself for the first major elephant cull in 14 years I wonder to myself how you feel after having pulled the trigger. Would Harry, if given the choice, choose to be exterminated or would he choose his current home? I’m sure that Harry still feels like an elephant, especially since his ego gets stroked so much by people who can’t help but gasp when they see his imposing figure in front of them. Something of the relationship between these creatures and their handlers begins to speak to me - you can’t force an elephant to do anything. A happy well-adjusted elephant will accept the hierarchy he finds himself in and function as though this is the only family unit he has ever known. Stenford (Shaka’s handler) gently gives him instructions and Shaka knowing his voice stretches his trunk back for his reward as we walk along.
…Another bull appears out of the gloaming and Major P.J. Pretorius fells him with only six shots this time…
With nothing but the sound of elephants walking along quietly, and the occasional rumble of contentment, you feel as though you are one with nature and all other stresses seem to melt away as you turn your full attention to engaging with these giants who have granted you the privilege to ride them. Shaka, Stenford tells me, was born in 2001 and was rescued from a cull on a private game farm in the Mpumalanga area. He came to live at the Knysna Elephant Park on the 18th of January, 2004 and soon found that his new home was a place of safety and that he could trust those committed to his care. The relaxed nature of all the elephants in our party speaks volumes for the trust and mutual respect that exists between animal and handler.
During Major Pretorius’ hunt a cow was also shot. Her calf had gotten into trouble down a steep krans and Pretorius and one of the beaters involved in the hunt had tried to help. Suddenly the angry mother descended upon them and they opened fire and headed her off. She was found dead the following day, as were her calf and another elephant. A hunt that was only meant to claim the life of one elephant ended the lives of five. Elephants will gladly pay the ultimate price for their families.
What will be the outcome for the families of elephants singled out for culling? Will the person pulling the trigger be experienced enough to be humane? Will the whole group be killed with minimal stress on the animals?
All too soon our encounter comes to an end and as Shaka allows me to disembark I can truly say that I have been touched by an elephant.
Acknowledgements:
Mackay, M. 1996. The Knysna Elephants and their Forest Home. Wildlife and Environment Society: Southern Cape Branch, Knysna
Monday, August 31, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
A Great Hunter?
This is an article I wrote a few months back for the Knysna Elephant Park newsletter. I hope you'll enjoy it.
A Great Hunter?
In our previous newsletter we considered why there were no elephants in the Kruger National Park area of South Africa at the beginning of the 20th Century. We discovered that there were another set of priorities at play at this time and that the goal for many was to exploit the natural wealth of the African continent in order to make a quick profit, all the while thinking that this wealth was inexhaustible. This did not exclude elephants whose ivory is in huge demand to this day.
When ivory hunters are mentioned a few names of men who between them killed over 1000 elephant come to mind: the likes of S.C. Barnard, also known as Bvekenya and P.J. Pretorius, one of the most notorious ivory hunters of the 19th century, as well as F.C. Selous. We will concern ourselves with P.J. Pretorius in this edition and in particular we will focus on a hunt that was only meant to claim the life of one elephant but ended up taking the lives of six in the Knysna Forest.
Pretorius was a descendant of the Voortrekker leader, Andries Pretorius, after whom the capital of South Africa is named. He started out as a transport rider for the British South Africa Company and then went to work on the mines to make a bit of money.
His career started in Zambia where he hunted elephant for their ivory and caught wild animals and supplied them to zoos. His travels took him as far up as Central Africa where it is said that he hunted with the pygmies, quite a risk since the tribesmen were very suspicious of white folk as the slave trade was still very much active at this point. He once escaped with his life after being falsely accused of murdering a chief – the real culprit was sentenced to be roasted alive. After a trip to Europe Pretorius returned to Tanganyika and tried to farm in the Rufiji Delta.
During 1919, Pretorius’s intimate knowledge of the area proved very useful when he helped the Royal Navy to track down and destroy the Konigsberg, a German battle cruiser. On one fateful day a fleet of British warships anchored off the mouth of the Rufiji River and bombarded the well-camouflaged Konigsberg where it was hiding 17 miles upstream. After the British were done with it the 3400-ton cruiser was reduced to a tangled mass of warped steel and wreckage. The Konigsberg was to Germany in World War I what the Bismarck was in World War II. He was also one of General Smuts’s scouts during the East Africa Campaign and during this time was awarded the C.M.G. and D.S.O.
In his later years Pretorius accepted an invitation by the Administrator of the Cape Province to exterminate a large number of elephants in the Addo bush, a job that had been declared impossible by people like the great hunter, F.C. Selous and naturalist, Harry Johnson. Pretorius was very successful – he managed to kill 120 elephants of the 131 roaming in the Addo area (on some days he was able to shoot as many as 5 elephants per day). The remaining 11 were given refuge in the Addo National Elephant Park, which was proclaimed in 1931. Thankfully this small elephant population has grown from the mere 11 that had survived to in excess of 450.
After his career as an elephant exterminator Pretorius began hunting for the cameras making hunting films. One of these films was made in the Knysna Forest in 1920 where Pretorius had secured permission to shoot one elephant for scientific research and to then supply the stuffed carcass to the Cape Museum. He wanted to prove that the elephants roaming in the Knysna Forest were of the same species as those found elsewhere in Africa.
There have always been elephants in the Knysna area but over the decades their plight has either been ignored or sidelined. In 1870 there were between 400 and 500 elephants in the forest but these numbers have dwindled, mostly due to hunting, to 5 (it was previously accepted that only one elephant had survived). Before Pretorius’s hunt there were 13 elephant in the forest but this number was reduced to only 7 after the event.
On the day of the hunt elephant were spotted near the Millwood Forest Station and fierce trumpeting filled the air, soon followed by the barking and growling of dogs attacking a female elephant and her calf. The small herd retreated for cover quickly and silence reigned once again…
Then the sound of gunfire rang out again and a majestic bull was brought down eight shots later – the wiry little man (Pretorius) jumped on the body and stood there victoriously while the grand bull lifted his head defiantly to look at his enemy and then rolled over on his side to die.
Suddenly another bull appeared out of the gloaming and Pretorius felled him with only six shots this time.
During Major Pretorius’ hunt a cow was also shot. Her calf had gotten into trouble down a steep kranz and Pretorius and one of the beaters involved in the hunt had tried to help. Suddenly the angry mother descended upon them and they opened fire and headed her off. She was found dead the following day, as were her calf and another elephant. A hunt that was only meant to claim the life of one elephant ended the lives of five (Pretorius found a dead calf at the beginning of his hunt. It had died of natural causes). The biggest elephant shot measured twelve feet six inches from the foot to the top of the shoulder. The length of the elephant, from the tip of his trunk to the end of his tail, was 22 feet and six inches. In elephant terms this was a big animal.
Pretorius shot and killed 557 elephants in his lifetime and after just one six-month safari his stash of ivory was worth 3600 Pounds.
Pretorius passed away in November 1945 but unsurprisingly his legacy has outlived him.
Acknowledgements
Haresnape, G. 1974. The Great Hunters. Purnell, Cape Town/New York.
Pretorius, P.J. 2000. Jungle Man: The Autobiography of Major P.J. Pretorius, C.M.G, D.S.O. Alexander Books, U.S.A.
Mackay, M. 1996. The Knysna Elephants and their Forest Home. Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa, Knysna Branch.
A Great Hunter?
In our previous newsletter we considered why there were no elephants in the Kruger National Park area of South Africa at the beginning of the 20th Century. We discovered that there were another set of priorities at play at this time and that the goal for many was to exploit the natural wealth of the African continent in order to make a quick profit, all the while thinking that this wealth was inexhaustible. This did not exclude elephants whose ivory is in huge demand to this day.
When ivory hunters are mentioned a few names of men who between them killed over 1000 elephant come to mind: the likes of S.C. Barnard, also known as Bvekenya and P.J. Pretorius, one of the most notorious ivory hunters of the 19th century, as well as F.C. Selous. We will concern ourselves with P.J. Pretorius in this edition and in particular we will focus on a hunt that was only meant to claim the life of one elephant but ended up taking the lives of six in the Knysna Forest.
Pretorius was a descendant of the Voortrekker leader, Andries Pretorius, after whom the capital of South Africa is named. He started out as a transport rider for the British South Africa Company and then went to work on the mines to make a bit of money.
His career started in Zambia where he hunted elephant for their ivory and caught wild animals and supplied them to zoos. His travels took him as far up as Central Africa where it is said that he hunted with the pygmies, quite a risk since the tribesmen were very suspicious of white folk as the slave trade was still very much active at this point. He once escaped with his life after being falsely accused of murdering a chief – the real culprit was sentenced to be roasted alive. After a trip to Europe Pretorius returned to Tanganyika and tried to farm in the Rufiji Delta.
During 1919, Pretorius’s intimate knowledge of the area proved very useful when he helped the Royal Navy to track down and destroy the Konigsberg, a German battle cruiser. On one fateful day a fleet of British warships anchored off the mouth of the Rufiji River and bombarded the well-camouflaged Konigsberg where it was hiding 17 miles upstream. After the British were done with it the 3400-ton cruiser was reduced to a tangled mass of warped steel and wreckage. The Konigsberg was to Germany in World War I what the Bismarck was in World War II. He was also one of General Smuts’s scouts during the East Africa Campaign and during this time was awarded the C.M.G. and D.S.O.
In his later years Pretorius accepted an invitation by the Administrator of the Cape Province to exterminate a large number of elephants in the Addo bush, a job that had been declared impossible by people like the great hunter, F.C. Selous and naturalist, Harry Johnson. Pretorius was very successful – he managed to kill 120 elephants of the 131 roaming in the Addo area (on some days he was able to shoot as many as 5 elephants per day). The remaining 11 were given refuge in the Addo National Elephant Park, which was proclaimed in 1931. Thankfully this small elephant population has grown from the mere 11 that had survived to in excess of 450.
After his career as an elephant exterminator Pretorius began hunting for the cameras making hunting films. One of these films was made in the Knysna Forest in 1920 where Pretorius had secured permission to shoot one elephant for scientific research and to then supply the stuffed carcass to the Cape Museum. He wanted to prove that the elephants roaming in the Knysna Forest were of the same species as those found elsewhere in Africa.
There have always been elephants in the Knysna area but over the decades their plight has either been ignored or sidelined. In 1870 there were between 400 and 500 elephants in the forest but these numbers have dwindled, mostly due to hunting, to 5 (it was previously accepted that only one elephant had survived). Before Pretorius’s hunt there were 13 elephant in the forest but this number was reduced to only 7 after the event.
On the day of the hunt elephant were spotted near the Millwood Forest Station and fierce trumpeting filled the air, soon followed by the barking and growling of dogs attacking a female elephant and her calf. The small herd retreated for cover quickly and silence reigned once again…
Then the sound of gunfire rang out again and a majestic bull was brought down eight shots later – the wiry little man (Pretorius) jumped on the body and stood there victoriously while the grand bull lifted his head defiantly to look at his enemy and then rolled over on his side to die.
Suddenly another bull appeared out of the gloaming and Pretorius felled him with only six shots this time.
During Major Pretorius’ hunt a cow was also shot. Her calf had gotten into trouble down a steep kranz and Pretorius and one of the beaters involved in the hunt had tried to help. Suddenly the angry mother descended upon them and they opened fire and headed her off. She was found dead the following day, as were her calf and another elephant. A hunt that was only meant to claim the life of one elephant ended the lives of five (Pretorius found a dead calf at the beginning of his hunt. It had died of natural causes). The biggest elephant shot measured twelve feet six inches from the foot to the top of the shoulder. The length of the elephant, from the tip of his trunk to the end of his tail, was 22 feet and six inches. In elephant terms this was a big animal.
Pretorius shot and killed 557 elephants in his lifetime and after just one six-month safari his stash of ivory was worth 3600 Pounds.
Pretorius passed away in November 1945 but unsurprisingly his legacy has outlived him.
Acknowledgements
Haresnape, G. 1974. The Great Hunters. Purnell, Cape Town/New York.
Pretorius, P.J. 2000. Jungle Man: The Autobiography of Major P.J. Pretorius, C.M.G, D.S.O. Alexander Books, U.S.A.
Mackay, M. 1996. The Knysna Elephants and their Forest Home. Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa, Knysna Branch.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
An Introduction to Elephant Getaway
This is the first time that I have attempted blogging, so forgive me if I ramble on a bit...
My name is Craig Cuyler and I run a tour company called Elephant Getaway. Elephant Getaway was started as an extension of the Knysna Elephant Park and aims to offer visitors to South Africa an elephant experience that is second-to-none, where they will become well-acquainted with the plight of the African elephant within South Africa's borders and beyond.
To compliment your unique elephant experience, we offer truly exceptional experiences of traditional South African food, fine wine and game in their natural environment. Combine this with hosts who are welcoming and attentive to your needs, rest assured that your experience will not leave anything to be desired.
Our Indlovu Photographic Experience was recently launched and offers professional and amateur photographers the opportunity to get that shots that they would usually have to wait a very long time for. You will visit amazing properties and enjoy thrilling adventure activities. For more information visit www.elephantgetaway.co.za.
I shall endeavour to post useful travel tips and make valuable recommendations for your South African Experience.
I invite you to interact with me on this blog and I hope that it can be of value to you. You may contact me directly at: craig@elephantgetaway.co.za.
My name is Craig Cuyler and I run a tour company called Elephant Getaway. Elephant Getaway was started as an extension of the Knysna Elephant Park and aims to offer visitors to South Africa an elephant experience that is second-to-none, where they will become well-acquainted with the plight of the African elephant within South Africa's borders and beyond.
To compliment your unique elephant experience, we offer truly exceptional experiences of traditional South African food, fine wine and game in their natural environment. Combine this with hosts who are welcoming and attentive to your needs, rest assured that your experience will not leave anything to be desired.
Our Indlovu Photographic Experience was recently launched and offers professional and amateur photographers the opportunity to get that shots that they would usually have to wait a very long time for. You will visit amazing properties and enjoy thrilling adventure activities. For more information visit www.elephantgetaway.co.za.
I shall endeavour to post useful travel tips and make valuable recommendations for your South African Experience.
I invite you to interact with me on this blog and I hope that it can be of value to you. You may contact me directly at: craig@elephantgetaway.co.za.
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