Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa

I love the animals you find in South Africa and elephants rank high on my list. One of the best places to see elephants is Addo Elephant National Park.

BG’s mom took us to Addo during our last visit - it is a short drive from Port Elizabeth. I was impressed by the size of the reserve and there are plans to expand it even further.

The Addo website says it was formed in 1931 when only eleven elephants remained in the area (over 450 live there now). I am just learning the basics about elephants and they are amazing creatures.

The guide from another animal park told us that elephants are extremely smart and they truly do not forget (the “memory like an elephant” expression is true!). They tend to focus on one area then have the urge to migrate many miles to another. Each generation of the family groups follow the same route.

Even though the current parks are huge they are still too small to contain this migration urge – that is why they are surrounded by electric fences. The guide said the elephants are so smart they will throw branches on the electric fences to test them. The parks maintain a full time staff to keep them running 24 X 7.

And as much as I love elephants I can understand why they run into problems co – existing with people. They can literally strip a tree bare of it’s leaves and branches – crops are just snacks for them. The other animals benefit from the trails the elephants forge through the dense brush and trees. Elephants are nature’s bulldozers that build animal roads.

They are also very protective of their young and very dangerous in the wild. The wildlife guides have utmost respect for them (and they all have an elephant story to tell!).

So it is not surprising that only eleven remained in the area in 1931. However, Addo is the place to see them today – and it is well worth the visit!

What do you think? Please send me your comments by clicking on the title above (Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa)

Raymond Pechacek lives in the U.S. and is married to a wonderful South African lady (BG!). He writes about the people, customs, wildlife, and places of South Africa, runs a consulting firm to help companies improve their global trade processes, and imports products into the U.S. - with an emphasis on supporting South Africa!