Since African Park's arrival, restocking has taken place in phases, and will continue with the aim of restoring populations of the original species that were present in the Reserve. To date these animals include: two black rhino, buffalo, waterbuck, bushbuck, eland, hartebeest, zebra, bush pig, impala, nyala, and sable. we aim to restock the Reserve with populations of exterminated species, acquired from other protected areas in Malawi and neighboring countries.
A 42km intermediate fence was constructed in 2003 for the initial phase of the project, which encloses 14,000 ha, where all the restocking of game species takes place. When the park's perimeter fence is completed, and the intermediate fence is removed, the game animals will be able to disperse freely into the total area of Majete Wildlife Reserve.
The infrastructure has been upgraded, including construction and maintenance by hand of 150km of new roads within the Reserve, with one drift, and maintenance of the 16km road from Chikwawa to Majete, clearing and maintenance 40km of firebreaks for fire management, completion of 6 scout houses with electricity and water at every house, administration facilities, including a fully equipped workshop and operations room, and Thawale tented camp, with 4 luxury tents, lapa, kitchen, a 44 KVA generator and staff/volunteer accommodation. Three artificial waterholes were constructed in the 14,000 ha sanctuary.
To rehabilitate Majete_fs wildlife, the agreement between African Parks and the Malawi Government stipulated provisions being made for the restocking of wildlife with populations of exterminated species acquired from other protected areas in Malawi and, in certain circumstance, from elsewhere in Africa. So far 769 animals have been moved to Majete from other national parks in Malawi, with a further 77 animals coming from private sources in Zambia. Animals introduced so far include: black rhino, buffalo, waterbuck, bushbuck, Livingstone_fs eland, Lichtenstein_fs hartebeest, sable antelope, nyala, Burchell_fs zebra, impala and warthog ? nearly all of which have bred successfully and increased their populations by at least 10% since reintroduction. Very large numbers of crocodiles and hippos still occur in the Shire River. Majete Wildlife Reserve is also very rich in birdlife, the total number of species recorded being 311, which is a reflection of the varied habitat.
It has been confirmed that two very kind and generous donors have decided to give a gift to Majete Wildlife Reserve in the form of 5 female rhinos to add to our current two males. This is incredibly exciting as it means our herd will hopefully finally be able to breed, and increases the number of black rhino in all of Malawi twice over. The rhinos will most probably come from African Parks_f flagship park Marakele in South Africa, but all details are yet to be confirmed.
Majete Wildlife Reserve is preparing itself for the eventual reintroduction of further zebra and hartebeest and also the climactic arrival of cheetah and lion. Again, any details are as yet unknown but it_fs hoped that by the time the perimeter fence is fully erect (by 2008), visitors may experience the pure excitement of seeing large cats roam the rocky outcrops and sporadic savannah of Majete.