Majete Wildlife Reserve, Malawi

Achievements

In 2003, African Parks erected a 40km long fence around a 14,000 ha section of the park (the sanctuary) and began restocking the park with all the species previously indigenous to Majete. Within five years of taking responsibility for the park over 2,000 animals had been reintroduced – elephant, buffalo, zebra, impala, sable antelope, waterbuck, nyala, warthog and many others.

The entire park was fenced in 2007 and subsequent introductions included black rhinos and more elephant, buffalo, zebra, waterbuck and others. To date over 2,550 animals have been re-introduced to the park and all have flourished. In late 2011, four leopards were introduced to the reserve with a further introduction of two more leopards in 2012. In July 2012, four lions were translocated from Pilanesberg National Park in South Africa to Majete. However during the long flight one of the two lionesses unfortunately died due to hypoxia. The three remaining lions were released into a holding boma at Majete where they were kept for three weeks before being released into the Mkulumadzi area. Since their release, they have hunted successfully and have been observed feeding on sable, zebra, warthog, kudu and buffalo. An aerial census was done in 2012 and more than 6000 animals were recorded.

Intensive rhino monitoring was conducted during 2012 to protect Majete’s rhinos from any potential poaching. Two rhino cows gave birth to new calves, however this was sadly offset by the death of two sub-adult calves, which were killed by one of the breeding bulls.

Park infrastructure has been significantly improved since 2003. In total 250km of new roads have been developed and ‘drifts' have been built to cross the rivers. Houses for the staff and scout outposts have been constructed as well as proper park headquarters, a heritage centre, visitor facilities such as the Mwembezi Restaurant and curio shop, and a workshop. The perimeter fence has been predator-proofed and the electric fence is maintained to a high standard ensuring that dangerous game such as elephant, buffalo and hippo do not leave the park and impact on neighboring communities.

An important goal has been winning the support of the local people. Employment has risen ten-fold from just 12 people to over 150 permanent employees with many more employed on a temporary basis and in a range of support businesses. Community structures have been established to ensure community participation in park management. Community based micro-enterprises have been established including businesses such as bee-keeping, mushroom farming, grass harvesting among others. Much support has been provided to schools and educational programmes and a community camp-site provides a source of income for the community.

The number of poaching incidents in the reserve has declined year on year, which can be attributed to a more effective community outreach programme, an increase in the use of informants and the responsiveness of law enforcement personnel to poaching reports. The presence of fence attendants along the perimeter of the park also helped with the security effort.

Majete received 5900 visitors in 2012 generating a park income of US$229,000 – still a long way off the US $900,000 required to run the park each year, but also a long way from the starting point. A well respected tourism company, Robin Pope Safaris, has built an upmarket tourism lodge in the park, Mkulumadzi Lodge, further boosting income from concession fees and entrance fees. This five star lodge was officially opened by the Minister of Tourism, Wildlife and Culture in July 2012 and is fast gaining an impressive reputation with its beautiful rooms set above the Shire River. This has had an additional socio-economic impact through the creation of more jobs and further stimulation of the local economy.

Ten years on, and despite severe economic challenges, Majete Wildlife Reserve has finally reached maturity with its new found Big Five status rapidly boosting its attraction as a tourism destination. Overall, the diversity of wildlife and improvement in accommodation, food and service has helped to create a reputation for Majete as the premier wildlife destination in Malawi. It is a thriving example of best practice conservation management at work.