By IANS
Nelspruit (South Africa) : Heavy rains over the weekend have flooded several wildlife sanctuaries here, including the Kruger National Park, displacing many animals.
The Kruger Park, which stretches 350 km from north to south, is one of the continent’s major wildlife conservation areas. It has an area of two million hectares.
The floods have cut off the northern region of the park from the rest.
The Sirheni and Shingwedzi camps in the area are worst affected. Wild animals such as reedbuck, elephant, leopard, sable and antelope have been displaced.
Sirheni has been completely inaccessible since Tuesday.
The South African National Parks (SANParks) has advised tourists to make use of alternative routes for travelling to northern parts of Kruger, as three important roads leading to the north have been closed down.
In southern Cape, particularly in the George area, the continuous rain has flooded many wildlife areas.
The SANParks said Tuesday that mop-up operations are underway in many areas. The Wilderness National Park, which was closed down due to the deluge, will be reopened Dec 21.
“Although not all camp sites will be fully functional by Dec 21, the park authorities have been working hard to ensure safety of the guests,” an official said.
Additional 70 coast-care staff have been helping the park officials in the clean-up operation. The George municipality is also helping the staff to clean up the beaches in time before the holiday season begins, the official added.
“The Half Collared and Pied Kingfisher hiking trails will be open this holiday season from Dec 21 onwards,” Wilderness National Park manager Jill Gordon said.
“With Christmas just around the corner, we look forward to welcoming you back into the Park,” Gordon said.