ELEPHANT IMMOBILISATION SAFARIS - 2008 & 2009

This safari assists a private reserve in Botswana with the responsible monitoring of their elephant population, while giving guests a once-in-a-lifetime hands on experience!

This safari affords clients the opportunity to be involved in an elephant immobilisation procedure in order to place a tracking collar on the elephant, which is vital for monitoring as part of a conservation based research program. The procedure will be carried out by a local veterinarian, with Dr Peter Brothers (Wildlife Veterinarian and registered tourist guide, and one of your hosts throughout the safari) close at hand to assist clients and the veterinarian.
The elephant on this reserve are being monitored to try answer some key questions with regard to their impact on their environment and to try establish factors that naturally limit their numbers.

The time preceding and after the immobilisation allows time for traditional game drives and learning more about elephant in general, as well as preparing you for the immobilisation.

Guests are given the opportunity to participate in the procedures being carried out, once the patient is immobilised, and it is thus safe to move closer. Guests have the option of a hands-on approach, or, if they prefer, simply observing from up close and getting those pictures of a lifetime!

Guest participation covers all veterinary and satellite tracking collar costs, which are very expensive and unattainable for the project without assistance.

So come join us for the experience of a lifetime and do something for wildlife conservation!

Day 1 - Monday

This safari departs early morning from Johannesburg International Airport and the drive takes us approximately 6 hours north to the Botswana border. We arrive at our lodge early afternoon, after clearing the border post, and settle in.

Enjoy some leisure time in the beautiful surroundings and high tea before a late afternoon/evening game drive to introduce guests to the reserve and its wildlife. Enjoy sundowners before returning to camp for an evening at leisure with dinner at our lodge.

During our stay we explore some 75,000 acres / 30,000 hectares of pristine privately owned game land, whish has been set aside to preserve the unique, prodigious features of this exhilarating continent. The area covers a diverse wilderness of savannah, riverine forests, marshland, open plains and sandstone outcrops, and is the home of no less than seven of Africa's giants: the African elephant, the lion, giraffe, the baobab tree, the eland, the ostrich, and the kori bustard.

Our luxurious camp (5 star) offers 14 tastefully and authentically decorated suites. Each suite is furnished with either two three-quarter beds and a day bed, or two double beds and a day bed, expansive en suite bathroom with shower, bath, his and hers basins, and a second W.C.
A private lounge area overlooks the unfenced surrounding bush and 24 hour temperature control completes the comfort of each suite.
The camp is elevated around a waterhole and offers excellent game viewing opportunities from within the camp itself. The dining area, stunning day lounge and bar provide diverse lookouts from which to enjoy and appreciate the environment.

Facilities within the camp include a swimming pool, an air-conditioned lounge and dining room and a lala-palm enclosed African boma, in which sumptuous dinners are savored under the magnificent African night sky and around a blazing fire. A well appointed curio shop complements the facilities.

The "piece de resistance" of the camp is the research room: a base for the scientific research conducted on the reserve, and a magnifying glass though which the animals and history of the reserve can be examined.

Day 2 - Tuesday

Early morning light breakfast/tea/coffee followed by a game drive in the reserve, focusing on the mighty elephant. We will be accompanied by the local elephant researcher and thus gain an incredible insight into the species and in particular their role in this environment. Of course we are bound to come across several of the other wildlife species found in the reserve too.

The basics of the research programme:
Elephant numbers are increasing in many parts of their range. In all of these areas, changes in habitat structure and composition are being observed. Elephants are commonly perceived as the major agents driving these changes. Emerging from discussions between wildlife managers on the effects of limiting elephant numbers and casual agents of change in elephant habitats is a realization that there is a severe lack of knowledge concerning four main issues. Firstly how elephant populations are limited; secondly, the relative importance of other herbivore species, climate and fire as determinants of systems structure, composition and dynamics; thirdly, how coexistence between elephants and trees was achieved in the past; and fourthly, how vegetation structure and composition influences overall biodiversity.
This research program aims to address all four of these areas of knowledge.

We return to the lodge late morning for brunch.

After brunch there will be some informative talks on issues relating to elephant immobilisation and conservation/management issues, and the actual procedure, equipment, drugs, etc. This will also cover safety aspects and guests involvement in the procedure.
Time permitting guests will be allowed to load tranquiliser darts with water and fire them at a target! (This activity is time dependent today may be done on Wednesday as it can take quite a while.)

Mid to late afternoon we return to the reserve for another game drive, this time accompanied by another local researcher, but focusing on the elusive but exquisite leopard, also taking in the other wildlife species which we may not yet have encountered during our stay. This is chance to hopefully witness hunting behaviour….

Return to camp after sundowners for dinner and to overnight.

Day 3 - Wednesday

This is the day we have all been waiting for, and we set out early morning after tea/coffee and snacks, heading into the area of the reserve in which we anticipate finding the specific elephant(s) that need their collars changing/collaring.

Once located, the elephant will be darted from a vehicle by a veterinarian. This is a tense moment since the elephant could go down badly and there could be other elephant in the vicinity, making approach of the immobilised animal dangerous….
Once the patient is secure and it is determined that the area is safe, guests will be allowed to alight from their game drive vehicles and assist with basic procedures, as well as just examining the patient from up close, hands-on ... There will of course be time for photos since the whole procedure, until we wake the patient, takes approximately an hour.

Once our patient is safely back up on his/her feet, we head back to camp, no doubt filled with adrenalin and smiles!

We return to the lodge for brunch and leisure time for the rest of the day.
If we have not covered any aspects yet due to time constraints, or guests want more talks/interaction, then we’ll happily oblige.

After high tea we head out to try locate our patient and do a visual check up, while enjoying a game drive on route.
We enjoy sundowners in the bush for the last time and return to our lodge early evening. We enjoy dinner in camp and are sure to spend some time sitting around the fire discussing the day’s experiences!

Day 4 - Thursday

We start early again today, with tea and coffee before heading out on our last game drive, or simply lie in and wake to the sounds of the bush ...

Brunch is enjoyed at the lodge, before checking out.

Late morning departure back to Johannesburg International Airport to arrive in time for connecting flights back home. Lunch en route for own expense.

Your safari ends at Johannesburg International Airport, at around 5pm.

If you are flying home today please do not book a flight departing before 8 pm. For guests not departing today, accommodation arrangements can be made on your behalf – not included in safari cost.

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