05 November 2009

Addo Elephant National Park: New wildlife and roads for Colchester area

Over 100 buffalos, which are very valuable in conservation terms due to their disease-free status, were translocated from the main game area of Addo Elephant National Park to the Colchester area, the newly developed part of the Park. Furthermore 80 red hartebeest, 40 Burchell’s zebra and over 20 eland were released into the area. Some of the 80 haretebeest are coming from the Mountain Zebra National Park, while the remainder of hartebeest, the zebra and eland were purchased through the World Bank project which is being implemented in the Park. The Colchester area will see the return of elephants, lions and other wildlife when plans to take down fences between the Park’s main game area and Colchester area are put into action. This is likely to take place late in 2010.

Seventeen kilometres of tourist roads leading off from the Park’s Southern Access Road, have just been opened in this Colchester area, giving visitors a richer wildlife viewing experience while exploring this newly developed area of the Park. The construction of an additional 20km of roads in the Park’s Colchester area will begin in January 2010.
The newly developed area of the Park is accessible from the Matyholweni Gate, just off the N2 near the town of Colchester (about 40km from Port Elizabeth).

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