CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Fifty years ago, Banhine National Park in Mozambique was a wildlife haven, teeming with herds of giraffe, buffalo and antelope. Then, it was stripped nearly bare by decades of civil war and unchecked poaching.
But a project is underway to restore Banhine to its former glory. Fences have been rebuilt and roads fixed. Finally, the trickiest part: bringing in the animals.
Private conservationists working with the government of Mozambique have moved nearly 400 animals — zebra, wildebeest and several species of antelope — by truck to Banhine. It’s an attempt to restart a game reserve that is part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, a series of reserves in Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe that form a wildlife corridor and a key conservation area.
The animals that will restock Banhine came from the Maputo National Park, itself a success story after a similar rehabilitation 15 years ago.
The process of getting the animals to Banhine was difficult and delicate. They were herded toward a large funnel-shaped enclosure with a helicopter. From there, they were guided up a ramp and into crates on the back of trucks for an 18-hour drive north. In all, the operation took 12 days.
The 385 animals were introduced into an 8-square-mile
