Elephant Collaring at ADDO Elephant National Park

Today was the beginning of another exciting week and this week was planned for elephant collaring. Elephants at the park are collared to monitor their movement and these collars consist of GPS trackers with a battery as part of the unit. As the battery wears off, the entire unit has to be changed and this was to be our task. Specialised trackers were on hand for this and it was similar to last week's arrangement of cape buffalo hunting. Due to limited spaces the volunteer group had to be split and a few of us got to go today while the rest would follow the next day. A few students followed us as well for observation and it was definitely fun having them around.

 Each elephant was tracked based on its existing GPS tracker then shot with a tranquiliser. After ensuring the elephant was down, the rest of us would move in to remove the old collar and fix up the new. While the main tasks were done by the vet and collar crew, we were allowed to help with passing equipment as well as watch the whole procedure.

Once darted, the first step was to ensure the elephant was on its side before placing a branch across the elephant's trunk to ensure it was able to breathe through out the changing process which took about 10-15 minutes at most. The new collar would have to be cut to size and fitted using nuts and bolts. The collars were pretty heavy though it made sense as the batteries would have to last some time and also be durable. Meanwhile, blood samples as well as measurements were rapidly taken. These would help in identification as well as health checks.

It was interesting to know that the herd were just circling the area as elephants were very protective of herd members especially the matriachs. The rangers were always on high alert and the chopper served a different role today, helping to 'herd' the elephants away while the collaring crew worked on.

Recovered and up

Elephant hide

Once the collar was secured and measurements taken, the antidote was given. The vet was always the last few to leave and we would be up on the bakkies by then. The elephant would always get up within a few minutes and stand dazed for a while before moving into the bushes. It was always thrilling to see the elephant get up and join back its herd.

This process carried on throughout the day, darting and changing collars, stopping awhile for lunch then carrying on. The weather was becoming hot and it was a great idea to cover the elephant's eyes using it's big ears, preventing it from knowing too much of what was happening as well as providing some shade. The ears were like fans, enabling the elephants to fan themselves on a hot day.

 The rangers also splashed water on the elephants to cool them down during the collaring process.
The day ended off with darting a few bulls and it was truly amazing to see the fearlessness in them before heading back to base camp and calling it a day.

An awesome day with the elephants of ADDO national park.