At the end of October 2021, we released 124 blue wildebeest into Limpopo-Lipadi. This intervention has been coordinated to follow the translocation of the lion from Limpopo-Lipadi to Tununga and Nogaatsha. The wildebeest were deliberately captured in herd context, and also released into the reserve in the same way. That’s the reason why we released slightly more animals than we had originally anticipated.
The capture and release went flawlessly, and not even a single mortality was sustained in the process, which is amazing, considering it was 42ºC—in the shade!
Subsequent sightings of these released wildebeest have shown them to be adapting well and dispersing throughout the reserve. Several pregnant heifers and cows have been spotted, so we can expect many additions to our population this recruitment season.
🎥 René Oosterlinga