Malawi: African Wild Dogs return to Liwonde National Park and Majete Wildlife Reserve!

Malawi’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) in cooperation with African Parks and the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) has succesfully reintroduced 14 African Wild Dogs from South Africa and Mozambique to Liwonde National Park and Majete Wildlife Reserve*. A pack of eight animals were released into bomas in Liwonde National Park and a pack of six into bomas in Majete Wildlife Reserve, where they will remain for several weeks, allowing them to adjust to the new conditions before being fully released into the wider park areas. Each pack has been fitted with a mix of satellite and radio collars to facilitate the continual monitoring of their location and habitat use and ensure their long-term protection in the parks. According to Cole du Plessis, coordinator of EWT's Wild Dog Range Expansion Project, there have been no stable established packs of African Wild Dogs in Malawi for more than 20 years, possibly since the 1980s. [src.] 

All dogs safely released into their temporary boma to acclimatise after translocation,
Majete Wildlife Reserve, Malawi © Matt Moon

The African Wild Dogs were sourced from Gorongosa National Park and Karingani Game Reserve in Mozambique, and Somkhanda Community Game Reserve and Maremani Nature Reserve in South Africa.

*African Parks manages Liwonde and Majete protected areas in partnership with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW).

Malawi: Cheetahs make return to Majete Wildlife Reserve!

African Parks, in partnership with the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), has succesfully translocated a small founder population of four wild cheetahs from South Africa to Majete Wildlife Reserve in the south-western part of Malawi. Cheetahs have not been present in the Wildlife Reserve, which is country's only Big Five reserve, for decades. Donated by Welgevonden Game Reserve, Samara Game Reserve and Dinokeng Game Reserve as well as Rietvlei Nature Reserve in South Africa, the cheetahs were flown to Lilongwe International Airport (LLW) in Lilongwe and transferred by road to Majete Wildlife Reserve where they arrived safely on the evening of 25 July 2019. They were released into enclosures, where they will spend over a month acclimating to their new surroundings before venturing into the wider reserve. The animals are in good health and expected to do well in Majete Wildlife Reserve, where habitat and prey conditions are optimal and measures are in place to ensure their ongoing conservation and protection.

Cheetah Return to Majete from African Parks on Vimeo.

African Parks manages Majete Wildlife Reserve and Liwonde National Park in Malawi in partnership with the country's Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW). Majete Wildlife Reserve is located in the Lower Shire Valley in the South West of Malawi, approximately 70km (approx. 90 minutes drive by car) from Blantyre's Chileka International Airport (BLZ) and three hours from Lake Malawi.

Malawi: Majete Wildlife Reserve to introduce night safari drives

The Majete Wildlife Reserve, located in the in the South West of  Malawi, has introduced night safari drives. Guests will be picked up and taken on an afternoon drive, followed by a pit-stop for sun-down drinks and snacks. The wildlife reserve is the only reserve in Malawi, which is home to the famous Big Five.

The Majete Wildlife Reserve is situated in the lower Shire valley, approximately 70kms – (one and a half hour’s drive) from Blantyre and about three hours from Lake Malawi. Malawi's only privately run wildlife reserve is covering an area of 700 km².

Malawi: Majete Wildlife Reserve to reintroduce lions

Majete Wildlife Reserve, situated in Malawi’s Lower Shire Valley, will soon again be home of the famous "Big Five" - elephant, rhino, buffalo, leopard and lion. In August 2012 two male and two female lions, provided by the North West Parks and Tourism Board in South Africa, will be introduced in to the reserve. The four animals will be selected from Pilanesberg Game Resever and Madikwe Game Reserve and the intricate relocation process will involve weeks of quarantine on both sides of the border.
The reintroduction of the lions will restore the park to a naturally functioning ecosystem and will mark a significant milestone in the rehabilitation of the 70 000 hectare Majete Wildlife Reserve. Historically lions were considered to be common in the Lower Shire Valley but by the early 1960s scouts in Majete were recording only one lion every 100 patrol days. Over the years poaching took its toll and there have been no reports of lions in the region since the 1980s.
With the opening of the luxury Mkulumadzi Lodge last year and with the only "Big Five" game viewing experience to be offered in Malawi, Majete Wildlife Reserve's future looks actually pretty good.

Malawi: Majete Wildlife Reserve reintroduced leopards into the park

Majete Wildlife Reserve, situated in Malawi’s lower Shire valley is well on its way to becoming a Big Five park, having undertaken a bold and inspiring wildlife reintroduction programme to restore the park to its former glory before human intervention.
The 70,000 hectare reserve has been a conservation success story since African Parks assumed management in 2003, with over 2 550 head of wildlife, including elephant, buffalo, sable and black rhino, introduced to the park over eight years costing over $2.4 million.
The plan to gradually introduce predators back into the park started in October 2011 with the introduction of 8 leopards re-located from the Kruger National Park in South Africa. The introduction of leopard is the penultimate step in the Majete restocking programme, which will culminate in the reintroduction of lion in 2012.
Until the launch of this project only one viable population of leopard existed in Malawi within the Nyika National Park. These leopards are the first to be introduced to Malawi across international borders, and the first leopards to make their home in Majete for nearly two decades.


View Majete Wildlife Reserve, Malawi in a larger map

Dorian Tilbury, Field Operations Manager, African Parks Majete commented: "Our mission is to restore, restock and rehabilitate Majete to the condition it was in before human impact.  A vital component of the natural system, leopards have been the first predator to be introduced because they have less of an impact on prey species than lion which is the other indigenous predator at Majete. To ensure all species flourish we had to get the timing right, leopards and lions often conflict with each other and if lions were brought in first it would have been more difficult for the leopards to establish themselves. Lions also eat more and it was necessary to allow the prey species numbers build up a little more before we introduced lions to ensure their survival"

Kelly White, Managing Director of the Malawi Travel Marketing Consortium commented: "The work African Parks is doing at Majete is set to have a phenomenal impact on tourism in Malawi, particularly for the safari industry. While Africa as a whole continues to open up other special interest areas for wildlife enthusiasts, the Big Five understandably remains the single biggest draw, so being able to provide a top-notch game experience will broaden the appeal and open up new markets for Malawi." (via Malawi Travel Marketing Consortium)