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News - Date: 10 June 2005
PUNDA MARIA – The South African National Parks (SANParks) is well known for its ability to move large animals like elephant, rhino and giraffe, but history was made this week with the translocation of two baobab trees from Letaba Main Camp to the new Giriyondo Border Post on the Mozambique border.
Kruger National Park spokesperson Raymond Travers said that, although this unusual translocation wasn’t the first baobab translocation ever, it was still a challenge to SANParks because of the extreme weight of the trees themselves and their close proximity to buildings and other facilities in Letaba’s Main Camp.
“The motivation for the translocation of the trees was twofold. With no large trees presently on site at the Giriyondo Border Post, these two baobabs will immediately provide structure to the garden at the post. Both baobabs also posed a threat to infrastructure in Letaba and would eventually have had to be destroyed, an act that is almost sacrilege. You simply do not destroy something so majestic when there is a chance of saving it,” said SANParks project leader and Mooiplaas Section Ranger Johann Oelofse.
Oelofse has been tasked with landscaping the new border post on the South African side of Giriyondo. He said that the task held great challenges for him and his team, which was ably and generously boosted by a team of willing volunteers from major sponsors Sasol Nitro Phalaborwa and JP Crane Hire.
“One of the baobabs, probably about 30 years old, has a trunk diameter of around 1,5 metres and weighs in at around seven-and-a-half tons. The other, younger tree weighs in at around 3 tons and has a trunk diameter of 60 cms. Both trees are well over 10 metres tall, which posed tremendous challenges for us,” Oelofse added.
Northern Regional Manager for the KNP Mr Ben van Eeden thanked all concerned after the operation was concluded late last night.
“I am sure in the years to come, people will admire these beautiful baobabs as they cross the border and we should commemorate the valuable contribution made today with a suitable plaque that will help to tell the story,” he said.
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