GABORONE, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Botswana, home to nearly half of Africa's wild elephants, has offered to donate 8,000 of the giant mammals to Angola, an official said Tuesday.
Botswanan Minister of Foreign Affairs Lemogang Kwape made the reiteration when discussing the outcomes of the recent state visit of Angolan President Joao Lourenco to Botswana with journalists in Gaborone, the capital of Botswana.
"A good highlight was the offer from Botswana to donate 8,000 elephants to Angola," said Kwape.
Lourenco paid a state visit to Botswana on July 19-21.
According to Kwape, the donation of the elephants will go a long way in assisting Angola to revive its tourism sector. He did not disclose when the donation will take place.
In the past, a significant elephant herd currently in Botswana crossed over from Angola fleeing the then civil war after finding a safe haven for wildlife in Botswana, Kwape said. "And now we have agreed to assist them to have some elephants relocate there."
Botswana is home to more than 130,000 elephants, the largest population of any country.
Mike Chase, a conservationist with Elephants Without Borders, said in a telephone interview with Xinhua Tuesday that the bold decision taken by Botswana should be hailed because Botswana's elephant population has grown too big, leading to conflicts with farmers and shortages of food and water.
He said repopulating and recolonizing the southeastern part of Angola would serve a purpose since there are not so many elephants there.
To enable that, Angola has agreed to remove landmines left over from the war and, together with Botswana, to remove fences that block elephant migration.
