Motorists travelling on the R40 between Hoedspruit and Phalaborwa in Limpopo have been warned to be on the lookout for elephants and adhered to warnings from authorities.

This follows after recent events where a vehicle was damaged and a truck driver and a group of foreign tourists were rescued from a charging elephant.

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 explains these elephants are not from Balule but from neighbouring reserves.

“The Balule fence is properly electrified, patrolled, and maintained daily, so the elephants are unable to breach the fence. The elephants feed along the R40 at night and pose a danger to the public when the morning traffic picks up.”

He says 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 adds.

He explains 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, however, adds that some motorists ignored the ‘no go’ instructions and the elephant charged and damaged the person’s car. The driver escaped without injuries.

Nowak says that two weeks ago Balule security manager in the northern region Jason Nel also had to draw a charge from an elephant to save a truck driver and a group of foreign tourists.

“Gert, along with Jason and Eugene Troskie from Phalaborwa Natural Heritage Foundation were able to get the elephants inside Balule and back to safety. No injuries were sustained.”

Nowak adds another recent rumour that elephants broke out of Balule was not true. He says that 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 through the gate last week!” The upgrades to the fence adjacent to Balule are almost completed and these incidents will not reoccur, he adds.

“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 that of the animals,” concludes Nowak.