The Addo Elephant National Park is situated just 72km by road from Port Elizabeth, in the comforting shadows of the dense bushveld in the Sundays River valley of the Eastern Cape Province. The Addo Elephant National Park was proclaimed in 1931 to save the last survivors of the once numerous Eastern Cape elephants, when numbering only eleven.
Animals such as the buffalo, bush pig, bushbuck, kudu, gray Duiker, Cape Grysbok, Ant-bear, caracal and black-backed jackal, whose strident howls still punctuate the silence of Addo evenings today, also took refuge in the sanctuary the Addo bush land offered.
The park was recently expanded, and consists of 12 126 ha of gently undulating Valley Bushveld. The Spekboom (Portulacaria afra) covers approximately 80% of the park area, but five of South Africa's seven major vegetation zones (biomes) occur in the Addo Elephant National Park.
Cape Buffalo
The Addo buffalo are the only Cape buffalo in the old Cape Province to have survived into the 20th century. But the more than 450 Cape buffalo were forced to make considerable changes in their habits. In contrast to buffalo in other areas, the Addo buffalo became nocturnal and browsed to a large extent, instead of grazing in daytime. Addo buffalo rarely form herds, as elsewhere in Africa, but generally live in small family groups led by an adult cow.
Black Rhino
In 1962 a breeding nucleus of the East African subspecies of black rhinoceros was introduced into the Addo Elephant National Park. The current black rhinoceros population numbers 38.
Addo Antelope
Eland and red hartebeest were re-introduced to the Addo Elephant National Park, and are flourishing, along with many other smaller endemic antelope species.
Carnivores
Black-backed jackal, caracal and black-footed cat, together with other smaller species such as polecats, genets and mongooses represent the carnivorous species in the Addo Elephant National Park. Lion and spotted hyena, for the first time in over 100 years, were recently reintroduced to the park.
Primates
The vervet monkey, which is diurnal and feeds mainly on fruit, is the only wild primate in the Addo Elephant National Park.
Addo Elephants
People mainly come to the Addo Elephant National Park to view the more than 420 elephants of Addo. Addo elephants are gregarious and live in family groups led by a matriarch or lead cow. Elephant bull have their own social system, with a dominant bull doing most of the mating. Addo elephant bulls carry small tusks, while most cows are tusk-less. This characteristic is thought to be the result of selective shooting by hunters in the nineteenth century. Elephant calves are born after a gestation period of 22 months, and weigh about 120 kg at birth.
Birding
Despite the Addo Elephant National Park's small size, and its relatively homogenous vegetation, more than 150 bird species have been recorded here. Ostrich, numerous waterfowl, many raptors and smaller, more secretive bird species which one would associate with the tangled Spekboom thickets of Addo, con be seen in the Addo Elephant National Park.
Reptiles And Amphibians
Reptiles and amphibian fauna are also common to the Addo Elephant National Park. More than 50 species of snakes, tortoises, lizards, frogs and toads occur in the park.
Flightless Dung Beetles
The flightless dung beetle is the most important of the smaller organisms found in the Addo Elephant National Park. The flightless dung beetles must walk from dung-pad to dung-pad, as they possess only vestigial wings. This beetle is today restricted to the Southern and Eastern Cape, but previously occurred in widespread areas of the Cape and pans of the Transvaal. After some rain, flightless dung beetles can be spotted rolling their ball of dung to some suitable burial spot. Flightless dung beetles then lay their eggs in the dung balls, which act as a food source for developing larvae.
An elephant produces around 150 kg of dung every day, at a rate of about one dropping every 15 minutes! So, the flightless dung beetle's, somewhat peculiar behaviour has the convenient and much needed consequence of recycling nutrients back into the soil. This is why you will see many signs in the Addo Elephant National Park asking you to take care not to run over the much needed dung beetles!
Addo Elephant National Park
The Addo Elephant National Park is one of 20 national parks run by South Africa National Parks (SANParks). The park offers accommodation and activity options for all tastes, but visitors to Addo Elephant National Park should all ready themselves to be woken by the francolin's call, heralding each new dawn.
Basic but attractive chalets overlook the well-trodden path to a waterhole in front of the main lodge. You can eat at the basic restaurant, or opt for a truly South African braai on your patio, with the grey leviathans of the bush passing quietly by.
Visitors coming to experience the natural diversity and finely tuned Addo ecosystem are also exposed to the rich heritage of archaeological and historical sites inside the borders of the Addo Elephant National Park.
Plans to expand the Addo Elephant National Park includes the future proclamation of a 120 000 ha of marine protected area, including islands which are home to the world's largest breeding colonies of Cape gannets and African penguins.
