Page 26 - Irene Farm Village 12 2021

Nature

are eLephantS FarminG in

KruGer parK?

The instinctive, genetic programming of elephants

seems to be transforming the landscape.

BY JAMES CLARKE, PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARY BROADLEY

f you enter Kruger Park at
Phabani Gate near Hazyview
Iand travel east towards Skukuza,
you reach, after 4km, a crossroads.
If you turn right there on to the S3
towards Pretoriuskop, you’ll notice a
phenomenon that is puzzling many
scientists.
There are several marula trees
along that route, each standing alone
and hundreds of metres apart, as
marulas tend to do. They are sturdy,
easily-recognisable trees with single
trunks that branch out halfway up to
support a dome-shaped crown. The
trunks have a mottled, flaky grey bark
and, in winter, their branches end in
characteristic finger-like stubs rather
than conventional twigs.
In February, a mature marula can
produce half-a-ton of highly nutritious
sweet, damson-sized berries full of
vitamin C. These berries are the basis
of South Africa’s great liqueur export,
Amarula, a velvety smooth cream
liqueur that can sell at hundreds of
rands a bottle.
Elephants devour the marula
berries, sometimes to the exclusion of
anything else.
What is particularly noticeable
along this road is that many of the
marula trees are dead. They have been
snapped off near their bases, others
have been severely damaged.
What’s happening?
In September, having gone through
Phabeni Gate on our way to Skukuza on
the Doispan Road, we had a dramatic
glimpse of what is happening.
Two stationary vehicles were ahead

24 • Issue 12 2021 • The Villager