Mozambique's Banhine National Park Rebounds with Influx of Relocated Wildlife

In 2025, Mozambique's Banhine National Park, once a thriving wildlife haven, is undergoing a remarkable transformation. Fifty years ago, the park was teeming with herds of giraffe, buffalo, and antelope, but decades of civil war and unchecked poaching had stripped it nearly bare.

Now, a concerted effort is underway to restore Banhine to its former glory. Fences have been rebuilt, roads have been fixed, and the most crucial step has been taken: the relocation of nearly 400 animals, including zebra, wildebeest, and several species of antelope, from the Maputo National Park.

This ambitious project is part of the larger initiative to revive the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, a network of reserves spanning Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. The animals were carefully transported by truck after being herded into a funnel-shaped enclosure and guided onto the vehicles. The 12-day operation was a delicate and challenging undertaking, but the results are already promising.

The animals have been introduced into an 8-square-mile "sanctuary" within Banhine, which will gradually be expanded as they acclimatize to their new home. The goal is to see the herds roaming freely throughout the larger national park, ultimately boosting the region's biodiversity and attracting increased tourism.

Banhine is the latest in a series of Mozambican reserves identified for rehabilitation, as the country works to restore its once-abundant wildlife resources that were devastated by poaching, drought, and civil war. With the successful reintroduction of critically endangered black rhinos in Zinave National Park, the future of Banhine looks increasingly bright.