Majete Wildlife Reserve was the first park to fall under our management and was signed with the Government in 2003. It took three years to secure this agreement for an unknown and failing reserve in the south western part of Malawi. Prior to 2003, all of Majete’s wildlife had been hunted out – elephants, rhinos, lions, buffalo, even warthog – only a few antelope remained. Trees were being felled for charcoal; only 12 scouts were employed, and not one tourist had visited the park in three years. It was a wasteland, with no perceived value, and little to no hope for a revival. But it was the perfect place to put our model of delegated management to the test. We immediately began securing the area and working with communities. In our first year we reintroduced rhinos; elephants in 2006; lions in 2012, giraffe in 2018, cheetah in 2019 and wild dogs in 2021. In 2017 we were able to take surplus elephants and other animals and move them to help repopulate Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve. Majete has come a long way in the last 18 years – from being a sink to a source; to providing hundreds of jobs and supporting thousands of community members who have reaped education, health and other social benefits. Not one rhino or elephant has been poached from the reserve since they were reintroduced and this once hopeless reserve has put Malawi on the map as a coveted wildlife destination. Today, Majete serves not only as our point of origin, but as one of our north stars, guiding a path along the road of possibility.
Majete Highlights
Over 5,000 animals of 17 species have been reintroduced including black rhino, elephant, lion, leopard, cheetah, wild dog, sable antelope, and buffalo. The restocking of the park has led to Majete becoming a 'Big Five' reserve, and Malawi's premier wildlife destination.
By 2017, the elephant population had grown to over 430 individuals, resulting in the ability to translocate 200 individuals from Majete to Nkhotakota to help repopulate that reserve as part of our historic ‘500 Elephants’ translocation