Hluhluwe–Imfolozi Park

Hluhluwe–Imfolozi Park, formerly Hluhluwe–Umfolozi Game Reserve, is the oldest proclaimed nature reserve in Africa. It consists of 960 km² (96,000 ha) of hilly topography north of Durban in central Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and is known for its rich wildlife and conservation efforts. The park is the only state-run park in KwaZulu-Natal where each of the big five game animals can be found. Due to conservation efforts, the park now has the largest population of white rhino in the world. However, the rhinos and the park's wilderness areas are now threatened by plans to build an open-cast coal mine right on the park's border, a plan that a growing coalition of organisations is fighting to stop.HistoryThroughout the park there are many signs of Stone Age settlements. The area was originally a royal hunting ground for the Zulu kingdom, but was established as a park in 1895. The Umfolozi and Hluhluwe reserves were established primarily to protect the white rhinoceros, then on the endangered species list. The area has always been a haven for animals as tsetse flies carrying the nagana disease are common, which protected the area from hunters in the colonial era. However, as the Zululand areas was settled by European farmers the game was blamed for the prevalence of the tsetse fly and the reserves became experimental areas in the efforts to eradicate the fly. Farmers called for the slaughter of game and about 100,000 animals were killed in the reserve before the introduction of DDT spraying in 1945 solved the problem. However, white rhinoceros were not targeted and today a population of about 1000 is maintained. On April 30, 1995, the then President Nelson Mandela visited the then Hluhluwe Game Reserve to celebrate the park's centenary. Hluhluwe–Imfolozi was originally three separate reserves that joined under its current title in 1989.