Limited water resources and over grazing has led Sanparks in the Addo Elephant National Park outside Port Elizabeth, to start experimenting with a method to divert elephants from water holes.

An apparatus has been installed at two water holes to allow other animals better access and protect the integrity of the surrounding veld.

The measure is part of the park's strategy to manage limited water resources, vegetation diversity and an increasing elephant population.

An innovative way to ensure the elephant population is spread across the Addo National Park.

This method is termed an "exclusion strategy".

It is an attempt to protect the Park's landscape by forcing elephants away from certain water holes, and allowing the veld to recover. Electrified strands are hung from a wire fence to deter the elephants who then sense danger and move away.

The elephant exclusion strategy includes another innovative system which helps with conserving and protecting one of the oldest trees in the Park.

Addo's Senior Manager, John Adendorff says: "Elephants are picky eaters and if they had water available everywhere all the time, they would wipe out their favourite snack."

This then has a detrimental effect on other animals in the Park.

The water exclusion strategy also introduces a necessary and natural stress element in the elephant herd.

Adendorff says that natural drought periods are supposed to induce stress which affects the elephants calving intervals.

This is vital for the Addo Park or else the elephant population will increase at an unsustainable rate.

Source: TMG Digital/Cape Newsroom