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05 December 2018
www.thevillagenews.co.za
The animals came in two by two Writer Elaine Davie
J
ust under four years ago, word got around in Kleinmond that a piece of land on the sea side of Lamloch had been sold and that it was going to be developed as a game reserve, specifically for elephants. Almost immediately the rumour mill went into overdrive. “What about the horses – their home range will be limited,” was one source of mounting hysteria. Even worse: “This is no place for elephants – the property is too small; there are no trees – what will they eat; they will escape and then what – we’ll have elephants invading our gardens and stampeding down the Main Road of Kleinmond – as if the baboons aren’t bad enough!” As time went by the controversy gathered momentum. First the game fencing and gates went up – “so it’s true then”; then the land was cleared of aliens – “at least that’s a good thing”; then some old outbuildings on the property were demolished – “Ja, you know, they’re going to spoil the landscape with a luxury hotel and a conference centre and I don’t know what else – they probably haven’t even done a proper environmental assessment”. At least there was no sign of elephants… yet! And then a collective sigh of relief – “CapeNature has turned down their application to keep elephants; see, what did we say all along, the place is not suitable for elephants – so what are they going to do now?” And then there was the recent drama when some of the Rooisand horses were separated from the rest of the herd and “were being held” on the property: ‘“You see what’s happening now – he can’t offer rides on elephants, so he’s going to tame the horses and organise horse-back safaris.” With all these wars and rumours of war rife in the community, we thought we should sit down with the owner, Craig Saunders and get the current state of play right from the horse’s mouth, as it were. The first thing we discovered was that Craig has had a life-long love affair with elephants. It started in his student days when he went to work during the holidays at the Sabi-Sabi
Reserve in Mpumalanga. However, after leaving varsity his career took him into publishing, the media, marketing, advertising and finally tourism. Then, in 1998 on a visit to the Okavango Delta in Botswana he met an American who had hand-reared three elephants and who recounted his remarkable relationship with these very special animals. This meeting made such an impression on him that in the early 2000s he announced to his stunned wife that he was giving up all his other business interests to follow his heart to the world of elephants. His first step in this bold venture was to build an elephant sanctuary and rehabilitation centre at Hartbeespoort Dam for five traumatised elephants who had survived a cull and were about to be exported overseas. Little did he realise that the journey of rehabilitating these and subsequent rescue elephants was going to be more daunting than bringing up children. If he had had any doubts before, his experience with the angry 48-year-old elephant from the Bloemfontein zoo soon disabused him of any romantic notion he might have had. Yet 10 years later that same elephant is a gentle giant with no hang-ups from his previous negative experiences. “It takes immense time, patience and trust to build positive relationships with these elephants and it’s absolutely vital to choose the right people to work with them,” he points out. “Actually, what we do is manage the environment and the people, rather than the elephants. For us ‘training’ is a dirty word. We habituate the elephants to human contact and ensure that all their needs are met, in terms of food, social interaction with other elephants, exercise, stimulation and security. Our interaction with them is built on a reward system of positive behavioural reinforcement.” After the Hartbeespoort Sanctuary came one at The Crags near Plettenberg Bay and another one in Hazyview, Mpumalanga. In between, he also established a primate sanctuary for rescued monkeys which live completely free within the reserve. At present there are 12 elephants at the Hartbeespoort Sanctuary, five at The Crags and a similar number in Hazyview.
The owner of Lamloch, Craig Saunders will be introducing two or three elephants to his 455 ha sanctuary within the next few months. He has already established similar sanctuaries at Hartbeespoort, Hazyview and The Crags near Plettenberg Bay. And now there’s Kleinmond. Already released onto the 455 ha sanctuary are eland, springbuck and kudu and early in the year they will be joined by zebra and other antelope species, all endemic to this region. But these, of course, are not the true focus of the project – elephants are. For the past three and a half years Craig has been battling his way through the process of applying for the different permits he requires before being allowed to populate the facility. However, he is optimistic that he will be able to introduce two or three elephants within the next couple of months. “They will come from one of our existing sanctuaries and will already be habituated and used to interacting with people,” explains Craig, “and they will come here with their existing handlers. The idea is that members of the public, in small groups and in the presence of skilled and experienced handlers will be able to accompany the elephants in whatever they are doing at the time, whether it’s walking, swimming, being groomed, or whatever. “One of the reasons this particular property is so great is that they’ll be able to swim in the estuary. Physiologically, elephants have many aquatic characteristics and they love to swim. In the process they will help oxygenate the water and open up paths through the reeds, all of which will make a positive contribution to the life of the Bot River Estuary. The
other good news is that for them Port Jackson Willow is a delicacy!” The supply of appropriate food – and lots of it – is obviously extremely important. Their diet consists of vegetables, fruit, lucerne and tree branches – all brought in from outside. “There is absolutely no reason for elephants to stray if all their needs are met,” emphasises Craig, “but even if they are tempted to do so, the fence we have erected includes two strands of electrified wiring, which will very quickly put paid to that idea. The specifications we have to meet are so detailed and so stringent, in fact, that they cover every possible eventuality, including evacuating the animals in the event of fire, flood, or any other emergency. “I have absolutely no doubt that this project will add value to the Kleinmond economy. Most visitors to our sanctuaries are foreigners, all needing to be accommodated and fed, which will be good for the local hospitality industry. (At this stage we have no intention of building our own hotel or restaurants, despite rumours to the contrary.) “We also place a very strong emphasis on education and have a good relationship with various universities which undertake research on aspects of elephant behaviour. We also encourage visits from school groups which will be able to get up close and personal with the largest mammals on earth and be taught the importance of conserving and protecting
our natural environment and the other species which share the earth with us.” Craig is very clear, though, that this is a business venture, and an expensive one at that. For example, just to clear the property of alien vegetation and allow the fynbos to flourish cost him R4.5 million. But it also meant that he could employ 20 locals for the job. His policy for all his projects is, indeed, to employ local workers for all but the most specialised jobs. This is a huge investment for him, and for the project to survive, it needs to be self-sustaining. He feels he now has a good working relationship with the wild horse protection group and will ensure that they still have access to their migratory territory. Obviously, it is to everyone’s advantage if the Kleinmond Sanctuary succeeds, from a tourism, as well as environmental and educational points of view. He says he wishes to be completely transparent in the way he does business and is happy to answer any questions members of the local community may have. It is with anticipation that we await the patter of large, plodding footsteps in our area, for the first time in hundreds of years.
For further information Craig can be contacted on e-mail babyjumbo@mweb.co.za or Tel 083 306 3770. The web address is www.elephantsanctuary.co.za.
