NEW RELEASE
The Story of a South African Park
Shaping Addo is dedicated to the rangers and researchers of Addo , whose dedication and hard work turned a remnant herd of traumatised elephants into an inspirational conservation success story .
Caxton Reporter
M ore than a century ago elephants
in the Eastern Cape were systematically hunted – until just 16 were left .
Today there are 650 elephants in the Addo Elephant National Park , the densest concentration of wild elephants anywhere on the planet .
While elephants are undoubtedly still the park ’ s top drawcard , the past four decades have seen the emphasis shift from protecting a single species to conserving five biomes and the wild animals that occupy them . And today , Addo can boast the Big Seven … elephant , lion , leopard , buffalo , rhino , as well , in the marine protected area , the great white shark and southern right whale .
Shaping Addo expertly delves into the history of the park , detailing the positive impact that changing conservation practices have had on its development . Drawing on decades of groundbreaking research , author Mitch Reardon provides a fascinating insight into the lives and habits of the animals – terrestrial and marine , and examines individual species , the relationship between them , and the carefully crafted management strategies required to ensure the survival of all species .
The book is an engrossing account of how a seemingly insignificant sanctuary was transformed into an astonishingly successful mega-park , and the most ecologically diverse protected space in South Africa . Struik Nature , R320 .
Figure 1 : The elephants of the Addo National Park .
Figure 2 : Shaping Addo is available from Struik Nature at R320 .
49 Grassroots Vol 21 No 3 November 2021