Game Translocation to Angola (2021)

In October 2021 we took nyalas, lechwes and sables on a 2000-km trip... We translocated these animals from different game farms in Namibia to a game farm in central Angola!

Last year we started to reintroduce wildlife back into this game farm, and this year it was time to add some new species. All the animals were captured via dart immobilization. The animal is then darted with an immobilizing drug, so we can handle it. The advantages of darting are that we can specifically select young healthy individuals, and we can give them a range of injections to boost their health. Young animals travel better, and adapt easier to new environments. To reduce stress, all the animals get a long-acting tranquilizer, and we make sure that the animals have enough (good-quality) food and water on the trip, and enough space to walk around and lie down.

After the animals were captured, we drove until close to the Namibian border. Here we stopped in a quiet place until the borders were about to open. We gave the animals hay, lucerne and camel thorn pods, and water, and while the animals could eat and drink in peace, we could sleep a few hours.

In the morning we crossed the border from Namibia into Angola. Border crossings are always a bit of a nightmare... While waiting at the border, we gave the animals again food and water. Luckily for the animals (and us!) there was a bit of a breeze, and a friendly Namibian truck driver parked his truck in such a way that the trucks had shade. At the end of the afternoon we were finally cleared, and we could proceed into Angola!

We drove into the night, until we got past Lubango. Here we stopped again, fed the animals and slept until it was light again. Driving at night in Angola is not something we prefer, due to the animals on the road, and the many potholes. We woke up with a thick cloud cover, and we had to cover our lucerne and hay for some possible rain! The next stretch of road was quite daunting, due to the many cut-out holes in the road. The road-fixing process was started, but unfortunately the holes were not filled yet. This meant we had to drive very slowly. Despite the bad roads, Angola is a beautiful country to visit. The big trees and Baobabs are impressive, and the landscape views magnificent. We can highly recommend you to visit this country one day!

We kept on driving during the day, stopped a few times to check on the animals, and had a nice soft rain shower to cool down! Eventually, the night was setting in again but it was not far anymore! When we finally reached the farm at night it was very dark, and we decided to wait a few hours with releasing the animals until it was light again. The animals got a last meal and water before they could taste fresh green grass again!

Early in the morning we brought the trucks into position to release the animals. This is always the best part of the whole translocation! The sables were first... the doors were opened, and they dashed off over the green plains! The lechwes came out very calmly, and inquisitively looked around while slowly moving into the bushes. The nyalas did the same, and were very relaxed, what a great sighting!

The next day we drove through the game farm again in the hope to see the 'resident' animals, and the new ones! The area is nice and green with a variety of habitats, from a open plains, to bushy areas and forests. We are sure the animals, like those we brought last year (the impalas and waterbuck already had several lambs/calves!) will do very well in this area.

We would like to thank all those involved in this translocation! Thank you for watching, for more information about our work, have a look at www.wildlifevetsnamibia.com. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

Music used:
1) Infraction - Hero
https://youtu.be/A_JnblbcMRI / https://inaudio.org/track/hero-epic/
2) Savfk - The Travelling Symphony
https://youtu.be/TqhNwEtZVcw
3) Infraction - Sirius
https://youtu.be/7KaD5jwVMXs / https://inaudio.org/track/sirius-epic/