Restocking & Reintroductions

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When Malilangwe assumed management of the reserve in 1994, wildlife populations had been severely impacted by the 1992 drought. To restore ecological balance and rebuild viable populations, we conducted a series of comprehensive reintroductions and restockings.

Central to this work is the translocation of wildlife. Moving animals is a complex process that requires careful planning to minimise stress and mortality during transport and after release. Over the years, we have found that holding animals in temporary acclimatisation enclosures before release significantly improves survival rates by allowing them time to rehydrate, recover from transport, and adapt to their new surroundings.

Reintroductions

Several species that had historically occurred at Malilangwe had either disappeared entirely or were present in numbers too small to sustain viable populations when we took over the property in 1994. To restore these species, founder populations were introduced between 1996 and 1998, including 15 white rhinos and 28 black rhinos from South Africa, 30 Lichtenstein’s hartebeest from Zambia, 30 roan antelope from Malawi and South Africa, and 40 ostriches from Zimbabwe.

Our rhino reintroductions were particularly successful. Both black and white rhino populations established well and have grown roughly tenfold since 1998, enabling Malilangwe to become an important source population for conservation efforts elsewhere. To date, we’ve translocated 71 white rhinos and 18 black rhinos away from Malilangwe to help establish populations in other protected areas in Zimbabwe and Botswana.

The reintroduction of Lichtenstein’s hartebeest has also proven successful, with the free-ranging population now estimated at approximately 80 animals.

Unfortunately, not all of our reintroduction efforts achieved the same level of success. Attempts to establish self-sustaining populations of roan antelope and ostrich were unsuccessful due to changes in ecological conditions within the landscape. Roan calves are highly susceptible to theileriosis, a tick-borne disease that is now prevalent at Malilangwe, but was largely unknown to the area in the 1960’s. Tick species that transmit theileriosis, particularly brown ear and red-legged ticks, are now abundant in the area due to the expansion of commercial cattle ranching in the region. Infected calves typically die within two weeks of birth if left untreated, and together with predation by lions and other disease pressures, this has prevented the establishment of a viable population. Similarly, most of the 40 ostriches released between 1995 and 1996 were lost to lion predation. The provision of artificial water points has enabled lions to expand their range beyond major river systems into areas that historically served as refuges for water-independent species such as ostrich. As such, so long as artificial water remains widely available, Malilangwe is unlikely to support a viable free-ranging ostrich population.

 

Restocking

While the land redistribution programme introduced by the Zimbabwean government in 2000 had little direct impact on Malilangwe, it significantly affected the neighbouring Hippo Valley Game Section (HVGS). As people settled in the area, poaching increased substantially. Because wildlife could move freely between Malilangwe and the HVGS by crossing the Chiredzi River, many populations declined rapidly. These declines were further compounded by high levels of lion predation and an anthrax outbreak in 2004.

To address these challenges, Malilangwe assumed responsibility for security management of the HVGS in 2007 and constructed a fence linking the area with Malilangwe which was completed in 2012. At the same time, nearly half of Malilangwe’s lion population dispersed from the reserve in 2006 after anthrax had significantly reduced the available prey base. This reduction in lion numbers, combined with improved anti-poaching efforts, created favourable conditions for wildlife recovery.

To accelerate the restoration process, Malilangwe undertook a large-scale restocking programme between 2008 and 2010. A total of 1,131 animals were introduced, including 14 nyala, 79 zebra, 29 sable, 141 waterbuck, 110 eland, 105 warthog, 442 kudu, and 211 wildebeest. Following this programme, wildlife populations recovered rapidly, and by 2014 most species had reached or were approaching the ecological carrying capacity of the reserve.

Since 2010, game populations at Malilangwe have remained largely stable, eliminating the need for further restocking interventions. This achievement has been driven not only by previous population recovery efforts but also by science-led adaptive management. Long-term research into lion predation patterns demonstrated that, where buffalo populations are sufficiently robust, lions overwhelmingly favour buffalo as prey over more sensitive plains game species. This insight has enabled us to manage the ecosystem in a way that supports our buffalo population and therefore reduces pressure on more vulnerable species.