The Maputo Special Reserve, a wildlife conservation area, in the southern Mozambican province of Maputo has seized, over the last four years, about 3,000 snares both inside and outside the boundaries of the reserve, in a bid to protect the animals.
A press release issued by the Peace Parks Foundation (PPF) states that the park’s administration has beefed up patrols which also include the inspection of the reserve’s fence that might have been damaged by elephants, warthogs or other wandering wildlife species.
The move comes after the death, last week, of one of the four cheetahs reintroduced in October 2021. The cheetah broke through the fence of the reserve and got caught in a snare, some 4.3 kilometres outside the boundary, which might have been setup by community members in order to catch antelopes.
In order to keep the wildlife as safe as possible, the reserve’s staff and partners have been working around the clock to closely monitor them through satellite collars, VHF tracking and aerial helicopter support. When necessary, they are gently nudged back to the centre of the reserve.
Over the past decade, a rewilding programme, accelerated under a partnership deal between Mozambique’s National Administration for Conservation Areas (ANAC) and its partners and donors has seen more than 5 000 animals reintroduced into the reserve.
Through vastly improved management measures and a robust wildlife protection strategy, the reserve has become a safe haven, allowing animal populations to blossom to between 15,000 and 17,000 individuals.
