Prior to the arrival of Portuguese and other European powers in Angola in mid 1500's, elephants were widespread and abundant across the country, thriving in almost every habitat the country has to offer. An abundance of water and vegetation supported some of the largest herds on the continent, and possibly produced the largest land mammal ever formally documented. Harvested in 1954, it took a year to hunt down the 11 tone beast of a bull, who's skin was donated to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, where it sits as one of the most iconic natural history museum displays in the world. 

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But following the Angolan civil war in 1961, most of the 20,000-100,000 elephants that once occupied the south-eastern corner of the country were either killed by poachers and soldiers, or fled into neighbouring Namibia and Botswana. So whilst there are pockets of remanent elephant populations left across the country (around 6,000, the majority being transboundary animals roaming between Namibia, Angola and Botswana), Cuatir needed to manually reintroduce the species to see them once again roam their reserve. 

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In July of 2024, Cuatir successfully sourced elephants from the Mount Etjo Wildlife Reserve in northern Namibia. Over the past few years, their reserve had been suffering from the impacts of drought, so in order to preserve the remaining animals, around half of the elephant herd needed to be relocated. It took the Mount Etjo team and Namibian Wildlife Vets around 4 trips to transport all the elephants to safely, ensuring that family groups stay together, and they weren't stressed out by the 700 km trip. 

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These elephants will serve as the genetic foundation of future populations in the area, with the capacity for 200+ animals as the reserve expands into neighboring areas.