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Quicama (Kissama) National Park (Angola)

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WILD was the first international conservation organization into Angola in the late 1990’ s following the tragic 25 year civil war. Over the years we’ve helped reestablish the Quicama National Park as Angola's first, post-civil war, national park and eco-tourism destination. Other parks are now emerging, with numerous international organizations at work.  

Quicama is the one million hectare (2.5 million acre) national park, the closest park to Luanda, with immense potential for ecotourism, community involvement, environmental education and bio-diversity conservation. WILD helps The Kissama Foundation to build capacity through training, financial support of park staff, research, and equipment supply. We are currently assisting the Park Warden, Roland Goetz, with communications and travel, and assisting the Kissama Foundation with fundraising in the United States.

In 2001, working closely with the Kissama Foundation, The Centre for Wildlife Management (University of Pretoria), The Humane Society of the United States, and others, we also helped re-locate 36 elephants and other wildlife (by cargo aircraft) to Quicama National Park. These animals, from South Africa and Botswana, were in protected areas with over-populations of elephant, and in danger of potentially being culled. These new inhabitants of Kissama are well readjusted and producing new calves as they wander throughout a special, secure, 25,000 acre conservation zone within the park.

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Rehabilitating Angola’s National Parks….a beginning
(excerpt from a Field Report by Dr Wouter van Hoven, 2001)

WE JUST MOVED 17 ELEPHANTS (TWO FAMILY GROUPS) and 15 eland from South Africa to Angola. Operation Noah's Ark has finally begun. But I am ahead of myself...

Civil War - a scourge of Africa -- has plagued Angola for 25 years. The war caused great suffering to civilians and the poor, plus ravaged wildlife: for ivory to arm and feed armies; landmines; and, of course, bush meat for the poorest.

However, stability has returned enough so that the flagship and popular Quicama (kee-SAAM-a) National Park, just an hour south of the capital Luanda, was set for renewal. Through my graduate students and other researchers at the Center for Wildlife Management at the University of Pretoria, we conducted a four year ecological study. The study recommended large scale re-introduction of wildlife into this stunning 5 million acre park. Now devoid of wildlife, it used to teem with up to 4000 elephants, 5000 forest buffalo and many other species. We secured private sector funding from international oil companies, The WILD Foundation, and others, to: re-train members of the local communities serve as game guards; build fences; pay local staff; and get started.

Elephants were our first choice because elsewhere in Southern Africa elephant over-population has led wildlife managers to choose culling as a means to regulate numbers….therefore translocation is a sensible and humane solution. After detailed planning a group of elephants donated by the North -West Parks Board of South Africa was airlifted to the Quicama Park in Angola. This was the first ever airlift of a complete family unit of elephants. The oldest female was 25 years old and the youngest was a calf of two months. The elephants were darted, loaded, revived, flown overnight, and released into their new home before the day became warm.

We are monitoring them, and they have adapted well to their new habitat. Much work lies ahead, but we made a good start!