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1990 
1995 
1994 
  
Figure 2 indicates the location of each of the reserves within the 
boundaries of South Africa and as can be seen the four reserves 
are divided into two zones. The first zone is in the more 
northern Limpopo province and the two reserves namely 
Marakele National Park and Welgevonden Private Nature 
Reserve are situated in a large area for conservation called the 
Waterberg Biosphere. The second zone is from the 
KwaZulu/Natal Province but the main reason for the selection 
of these specific reserves was that they all have been hunted 
‘clean’ from all mega-herbivores until 1990s when the 
translocation. from the over-populated Kruger National Park 
took place and these specific reserves (with the exception of 
Tembe Elephant Park) were again stocked with elephants. 
Tembe is the exception since the elephant there are indigenous 
to that east coast area and the reserve established to protect 
those elephants from being poached and slaughtered during the 
civil war period in Mozambique. 
Each of these reserves is unique in its purpose, conservation 
objectives and its management. 
  
     
  
    
Vesigtennden Pique Slature Besotye 
  
Arad Fendt erst Pec SES 
Weais eme Reserve Tas Elm shant Park 
  
  
  
  
Figure 2: Geographical location of the four reserves in 
South Africa 
° Tembe Elephant Park: 
A private eco-tourism reserve owned by local rural community 
but managed by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, the Provincial 
government’s conservation section. Tembe Elephant Park was 
originally established to protect the last remaining ‘East Coast 
elephants’ but has since broaden its objectives by primarily 
conserving the threatened Sand Forest and the Maputoland 
centre of plant endemism, unique to the northern 
KwaZulu/Natal east coast. Their second priority is the 
elephants and the third is the protection of the ‘Suni’ a rare and 
highly endangered small antelope. As can be seen from Figure 
3 below the area is reasonably densely vegetated with patches of 
large Sand Forest trees and undergrowth. 
    
Figure 3: Tembe Elephant Park (Source M Jordaan, 201 1) / 
° Ithala Game Reserve: 
Ithala is a public owned conservation area, managed by the 
KwaZulu/Natal provincial government’s Ezemvelo KZN 
Wildlife, Ithala was originally an amalgamation of a few large 
game farms that were sanctioned into a Reserve in 1982. Ithala 
differs from Tembe in that it represents the interior *bushveld' 
ecosystems found between the high Drakensberg mountain 
range and the coast. The conservation objectives of Ithala are 
firstly to restore and conserve the natural biodiversity and 
ecological processes including the influence of the altitudinal 
gradient (see Figure 4). Secondly to conserve conserve Red 
Data species including: Warburgia salutaris, Eugenia simmii 
and the rare Protea comptonii communities. Thirdly to 
maintain viable populations of black rhinoceros, white 
rhinoceros, tsessebe and oribi as priority species. 
  
Figure 4: Ithala Game Reserve (Source M Jordaan, 201 1) 
° Marakele National Park: 
Marakele National Park is managed by SANparks, South 
African Parks Board. Established in 1988 with the conversion 
of a small provincial reserve aptly named Kransberg (Cliff 
Mountain) and including a few adjacent hunting farms to form 
the original reserve but has since been enlarged with the 
addition of more farms to be 38000ha in size. The main 
conservation objective for Marakele National Park is to 
maintain its biodiversity in all its aspects and fluctuations. 
Figure 5 illustrate the mountainous terrain of Marakele as seen 
from the south. 
   
  
    
Figure 5: Marakele National Park (Source M Jordaan, 201 1) 
° Welgevonden Private Nature Reserve 
Welgevonden Private Nature Reserve is as the name indicates 
owned by private individuals and companies with a large 
portion of the luxury lodges developed on the reserve, owned by 
foreign investors. These 14 lodges cater for tourists (mainly 
foreign) and therefore determine the conservation objectives for 
Welgevonden. As a tourist destination the conservation 
objectives focus mainly on maintaining viable populations of 
the “big five”. Sustain a functioning local ecosystem and 
contribute to the conservation of the larger Waterberg Biome. 
Figure 6: Welgevonden Private Nature Reserve 
(Source M Jordaan, 2011)