Moving Giants, Shifting Risks: Balancing Wildlife and Human Needs

By Jack Keen

Wildlife translocation is a practice aimed at protecting endangered species and restoring ecosystems by deliberately moving them to another place out of the way of humans. Translocation is a vital method in conservationists toolkits, often being the most effective solution for all parties involved. However, recent incidents have led to calls for greater care in these practices. There is a rising demand for other solutions that better balance community needs and conservation efforts.

Wildlife translocation has many benefits. It is often used to address overpopulation in certain areas, and underpopulation in others whilst also reducing the human-wildlife conflict. As a result, the practice can help restore species to regions where they were once extinct, and help keep an animal’s population sustainable, at little cost to human opportunity. 

Whilst a good idea in theory, success rates for relocations can vary significantly, as animals are very quickly introduced to new environments, which have different food chains, unfamiliar landscapes and already claimed territory. For example, large carnivores have a 66% success rate in their new locations, whereas other vertebrates have 54%. However, these chances can be boosted with specific tactics like ‘slow release’ which ensure the animals safety and give time for adaptation.

There have also been concerns over the long-term establishment of an animal population. Only 37% of relocated animals are observed to reproduce, which is too low to ensure population viability.

Whilst well-intended, wildlife translocation can sometimes have negative externalities on people in the new area. This is the case in the relocation of a herd of elephants in Malawi in July 2022. More than 250 elephants have been moved from Liwonde national park, in southern Malawi, to Kasungu. The Kasungu protected area is the second largest of the country and is therefore a frequent destination for these animals. The relocation was initially hailed as a conservation victory but quickly led to human-wildlife conflicts. Since the 2022 relocation, 12 people have died at the hands of elephants, including in June 2023, when 31-year-old Masiye Phiri was killed, and her two-year-old child was injured when they were charged by a bull elephant in a garden after a group had left the park boundaries. Furthermore, thousands have suffered from property damage, crop destruction and high psychological distress.

The affected communities are suing the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) who originally relocated the herd of elephants. They allege that there was negligence in planning and executing the relocation, such as improper proper fencing, and a lack of maintenance or tracking. In response, the IFAW expressed sadness over the deaths but denied any wrongdoing. It stated that its role was limited to financial and technical support, while the Malawian government ultimately had responsibility over the safety of people and the maintenance of protective measures.

Harmonising animal welfare with human safety is a difficult scale to balance. While elephants are moved to protect them from poaching, there has been a history of insufficient safeguards, which has led to harm for residents, who have little to no say in the movement of these animals. Many argue that it is immoral to prioritise the conservation of animals over the well-being of communities; some say it should not come at the expense of human lives. However, endangered species require protection, and a sense of NIMBYism is always going to be an obstruction.

There have been more calls for rewriting the guidelines of wildlife translocation projects. Suggested reforms include improving risk assessments, better community consultations, and investing in infrastructure like fencing or buffer zones. It is also important to better assess the release environment, ensuring there are sufficient nutrients, nesting habitats, and adequate funding and skilled personnel available to provide care. With these measures put in place, the safety of communities can be better guaranteed, and the promises of translocation programmes can be better realised.

New technologies also offer hope for future translocation projects. More robust monitoring systems can better track post-relocation migrations and reproductions. Additional data will provide conservationists with the ability to help, when necessary, as well as ensure more suitable conditions for future relocations. Drone technology has the potential to do such monitoring, as it can cover large distances, and collect a wide range of data if fit with proper scanners. 

Wildlife translocation is a vital part of conservation efforts for endangered species. The strategy has its many flaws, often resulting in the deaths of humans, or failure to establish a viable population. However, many of these issues can be resolved, with sufficient funding, better planning, and the introduction of new technologies. Wildlife translocation has many hopes. Despite some failures, it should be a thriving practice to defend endangered species from extinction.

Image: Flickr