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The Maputo Elephant reserve, north of Ponta Malongane, is a 50 000 ha mosaic of lakes, floodplains, mangrove swamps, woodlands and forested dunes sweeping down onto unspoilt beaches.
The reserve was once a sanctuary to large herds of elephant, white rhino and a variety of other game species, but poaching during the civil war reduced animal numbers considerably. The entire white rhino population of 65 animals, introduced from the Umfolozi Game Reserve in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal Province in 1967 was wiped out, while the elephant population decreased from an estimated 350 in 1971 to a mere 120 by the late 1980s.
The Rio Futi provides an ecological link with the Tembe area in northern KwaZulu-Natal and for centuries this fossil river has been used as a migration route by elephants.
During the winter months, the breeding herds congregate with their calves in the vicinity of the park headquarters before migrating southwards. Fearing that the elephants would be wiped out completely, KwaZulu-Natal conservation authorities fenced off the northern boundary of the Tembe Elephant Park in 1989.
Since 1994 the Endangered Wildlife Trust has provided considerable financial support to the National Directorate of Forestry and Wildlife to rehabilitate the reserve. The programme included educating the local population that the area is a reserve, halting poaching, training game guards and repairing tourism facilities.
Game numbers are increasing again and the park's elephant population currently numbers around 200, while the Tembe Elephant Park population is estimated at between 130 and 140 animals. Although their spoor and dung are frequently seen, the elephants are elusive and difficult to track down in the dense bush. Other animals you chance spotting include hippo, crocodile, nyala, red duiker, suni, vervet monkey and reedbuck.
The reserve offers excellent opportunities for bird watching as several species reach the southern limit of their distribution in northern KwaZulu-Natal. Among these are Rudd's apalis, Woodwards' batis, Neergaard's sunbird and pink-throated twinspot. Commonly seen species include African fish eagle, crested guinea fowl, olive bee-eater, woodland kingfisher and white helmet shrike, as well as grey, trumpeter and crowned hornbills.
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