Elephants lured to Balule after feeding along R40
Elephants from reserves between Hoedspruit and Phalaborwa are drawn to the R40 by the fruit of the marula trees.
According to Ian Nowak of the Balule Nature Reserve, these elephants gain access to the road by walking from the Selati River through an adjacent mining area to reach the R40. “During the rainy season, elephants are drawn to the road because the marula trees and the grass alongside the road get run-off water, and as a result, the trees bear better fruit.” He said these elephants are not from Balule but from neigbouring reserves.
“The Balule fence is properly electrified, patrolled, and maintained daily, so the elephants are unable to breach the fence,” he said. “The elephants feed along the R40 at night and pose a danger to the public when the morning traffic picks up.” He said Balule’s teams return the elephants back to safety by ‘pushing’ them through one of the reserve’s gates along the R40. The gate will depend on various factors, the obvious one being the location of the elephants on the road,” Nowak said.
He said that in recent weeks their teams returned various groups of elephants back to safety. “Last week we received a report in the early hours of the morning that three elephants were on the R40. They were between two of our gates and one of our wardens, Gert Kruger, had to draw the charge of one of the elephants to protect the motorists on the road.” He said some motorists ignored the ‘no go’ instructions and the elephant charged and damaged the person’s car.
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He escaped without injuries. He said that two weeks ago, Jason Nel, Balule’s security manager in the northern region, also had to draw a charge from an elephant to save a truck driver and a group of foreign tourists. “Gert, together with Jason and Eugene Troskie from Phalaborwa Natural Heritage Foundation (PNHF) were able to get the elephants inside Balule and back to safety. No injuries were sustained.” Nowak said another recent rumour that elephants broke out of Balule, was not true.
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He said due to wet conditions a motorist lost control of a car and crashed into the Balule fence. He thanked Balule’s staff for their dedication and commitment to the well-being of the public and the animals. “Their bravery and dedication are truly commendable. A special thanks to Eugene for letting the elephant chase him last week through the gate!” The upgrades to the fence adjacent to Balule are almost completed and these incidents will not reoccur, he said.
“We appeal to motorists to obey instructions of the crews on the ground when encountering the elephants on the R40. It’s what is best for their own safety and of that of the animals,” concluded Nowak.
