Zinave National Park Tour

Zinave is an integral component of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area. A 20-year co-agreement was signed between Mozambique’s National Administration for Conservation Areas (ANAC) and Peace Parks in 2015 to restore, develop, and manage Zinave National Park.

Zinave National Park is situated in the Inhambane Province of Mozambique and covers some 4091 km2.

The park is an integral part of the Mozambican component of the Great Limpopo transboundary landscape. In 2015, a long-term co-management agreement was signed between Mozambique’s National Administration for Conservation Areas (ANAC) and Peace Parks. This park will sustain and restore the landscape dynamics of the larger ecosystem and enhance ecological connectivity through the establishment of a wildlife economy in the interstitial communal lands.

There was a great deal of work to be done in Zinave. Fences were erected, infrastructure upgraded, accommodation for staff and rangers built, a helicopter hangar constructed, vehicles purchased, extra staff appointed, and field rangers were employed and trained.

An extensive livelihood improvement strategy for the surrounding communities was implemented, and community liaison officers were appointed to oversee the development of the conservancies between the three national parks.

A sanctuary was erected within the 4091 km2 park as a secure zone where translocated wildlife could safely land, while an advanced anti-poaching unit was developed. Following the first translocation of seven elephants from Maremani Nature Reserve in South Africa to Zinave in October 2016, giraffe, sable, impala, reedbuck, waterbuck, and buffalo have been added to the plains from conservation areas in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and South Africa.

Thanks to a massive effort that began in 2022, a crash of 37 rhinos has been brought to Zinave. The happy and settled herd has produced seven healthy calves, one of which is a critically endangered black rhino. This much-celebrated event is a clear testimony to the success of Zinave’s rewilding. By the end of 2023, 2540 wild animals from 16 different species were translocated to this park.

Washington Post journalist Sudarsan Raghavan joined Peace Parks Foundation on one of the rhino translocations and penned an excellent narrative of his experience here.

Ecological connectivity

Further rewilding happened without human intervention, as signs of lions were seen in the park. The first cat was captured on a camera trap in the sanctuary in early September 2021. This clearly indicated that predators were being naturally drawn to the area’s prosperous ecosystem.

Steadily over the past few years, more lions have made their own way into Zinave using ecological linkages between protected areas, instinctively attracted by a plentiful food supply and the safety offered by the sanctuary.

The expansion of the sanctuary in Zinave was completed in November 2023, bringing the sanctuary size to 33,000 ha. In 2024, plains game slowly started expanding their range into the expanded area.