Two iconic elephants, Kasper and Kitso, died on April 23 while under sedation as they were being loaded for their relocation from the Lowveld to Kleinmond Wildlife Sanctuary (KWS) in the Western Cape.

The owner and custodian of the elephants, Craig Saunders, says they were rescued from the Kruger National Park (KNP) and placed in the Elephant Sanctuary Hartbeespoort Dam, before being moved to Hazyview in Mpumalanga.

Saunders describes the two African bull elephants as well-known and much-loved by many South Africans and international holidaymakers visiting the sanctuary.

He says the two bulls were not only legends as giant animals, but similarly for their personalities, as most people were drawn to them and would return to see them many times.

“Kasper and Kitso’s habitat in Hazyview had come under increasing social and environmental pressure. There was a helicopter that was spraying crops in the area, which posed an adverse effect on the elephants’ health and their habitat.

Unfortunately, we could not expand the size of their existing location, and so it was essential to relocate them to a new space just outside Kleinmond to live out the rest of their days,” Saunders says.

Kasper was originally a rescue animal from a KNP culling and was transferred to a hunting farm in Namibia with his brothers. His brothers were killed by hunters. When Saunders heard about this, he travelled to Namibia and managed to bring him back to South Africa.

“Unfortunately, with the trauma he experienced in Namibia, he was a gate and fence crasher, making him more of a problem. However, by introducing him to other elephants, including Kitso, within the Elephant Sanctuary Hartbeespoort Dam and building the relationship with his carers, Kasper soon felt he was part of a family again,” he says.

Kitso also came from the KNP. His herd was culled during a breakout onto a neighbouring farm in the Malalane area.  He was 18 when they brought him to the Elephant Sanctuary Hartbeespoort Dam.

Kasper and Kitso did not want to be separated, so when the Hazyview Elephant Sanctuary was launched in 2007, it seemed to be an obvious decision that both bulls should be moved together.

They had lived in captivity for 15 years. Kitso was 22 and Kasper was 38 when they died.

“We are absolutely devastated about the loss of our two beloved elephant bulls. It was always Kleinmond Wildlife Sanctuary’s objective to ensure the safety and comfort of these two African elephants for the rest of their days. I would like to thank everyone who has been part of the sanctuary’s custodianship and Kasper and Kitso’s lives,” says Saunders.

The spokesperson for the MTPA, Kholofelo Nkambule, says Saunders had followed all the procedures to transport animals and he was granted a permit to move the two elephants.

“The loss of animals during capture operations is always unfortunate. We trust that the cause of the deaths can be determined so that we could learn from it, and avoid such in future,” Nkambule says.