MOOIPLAAS – The Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) has commended the community of Mooiplaas for their cooperation when elephants escaped from the Songimvelo Nature Reserve on 16 February.
Residents were awoken by distraction on their gardens and farms after elephants escaped and damaged some crops. MTPA spokesperson Simphiwe Shungube has commended the community for urgently alerting the nature reserve.
“The animals were taken back to the reserve on the same day and were pushed further back from the fence. We appreciate the positive attitude from the community, for informing us and not harming the elephants .We also symphanthize with those who lost some of their crops,” said Shungube.
READ | WATCH: Elephant escapes from KNP
Shungube assured the community that the rangers were working around the clock to ensure that the elephants are retained further back at the reserve to prevent them from escaping especially, now during the marula season.
“We will also embark on an educational campaign in communities across the province to teach them on what to do when an animal has escaped from a reserve to the community. Our responsibility is to conserve nature. We need to teach communities about conservation to prevent extinction of these animals,” added Shungube.
