The Elephant Journey, Part 2 Giants on the Move: Charls, Lumpy, and the Rise of Hot Stuff
From Wonder to Worry: Dinokeng’s Breaking Point
By 2017, Dinokeng’s elephant saga had shifted dramatically. What began as delight and awe at the arrival of giants had morphed into a full-blown headache. Charls—our infamous grapefruit thief—had refined his art into a profession. Fences were no longer barriers, merely polite suggestions. Fence alarms shrieked through the night. Poles bent like drinking straws. Orchards disappeared trunk by trunk. And the younger bulls weren’t just watching. They were studying. Apprentices in the fine art of elephant locksmithing.
That year, I had stepped into the role of chairman of the DGRMA (Dinokeng Game Reserve Management Association)—and landed squarely in the middle of the chaos. Calls from furious landowners came daily. ERP (Elephants, Rhinos & People) placed full-time monitors on the herd, but the constant surveillance only agitated the elephants further. After one near-tragic incident involving a monitor, the conclusion was unavoidable: something had to give.
The Decision to Relocate
After months of heated debate, sleepless nights, and landowner tempers flaring hotter than a rocket boiler at dawn, the decision was made. The so-called “problem bulls” would be translocated to Zinave National Park in Mozambique. The alternative was grim: declare them problem animals and destroy them.
ERP Steps In
ERP didn’t just nod and wave. They took ownership. Funding, coordinating, and managing every step of the operation—from darting and sedation, to cranes hoisting elephants into trucks, to the long haul into Mozambique. Each bull was fitted with a satellite collar, sending back GPS pings of their first steps into a new wilderness. ERP also strengthened Dinokeng’s monitoring with vehicles, fuel, and equipment.
When Plans Meet Elephants
The plan was straightforward: move four bulls. But as bush life teaches us, simple plans rarely survive first contact with elephants. Charls and Lumpy were darted, loaded, and safely trucked away. The younger bulls slipped through the net and remained in Dinokeng. And so it was that only two elders carried Dinokeng’s story into Mozambique.
The Long Goodbye
Relocating elephants is a Herculean effort. It takes tranquilizers, cranes the size of houses, trucks, and a team of nerves of steel. Charls—the citrus thief who once raided our grapefruit tree—and his quiet companion, Lumpy, rolled out of Dinokeng on a one-way ticket to Zinave. For us, it was bittersweet.
Freedom in Zinave
Today, Charls and Lumpy roam freely in Zinave. No alarms, no wag-’n-bietjie barriers, no frustrated landowners waving arms. Zinave, once depleted by war, has become a rewilding miracle as part of the Great Limpopo Trans-frontier Conservation Area. By 2023, over 2,500 animals from 16 species had been reintroduced. Somewhere in that abundance, Charls and Lumpy walk—not as troublemakers, but as elder giants of a reborn wilderness.
The Ones Who Stayed Behind
Two younger bulls—Hot Stuff and J Junior—remained in Dinokeng. Without the elders, balance fractured overnight. Hot Stuff, ambitious and testosterone-charged, stepped into the vacuum. He strutted through the reserve, musth dragging on longer than normal. He perfected Charls’ old tricks: bending poles, unlatching gates, and leading midnight raids.
Hot Stuff Goes Viral
Landowner responses were chaotic. Some tossed food to appease him; others clanged pots and revved engines. Mixed signals only emboldened Hot Stuff. Soon YouTube caught on—clips of him breaking into Rooibank Farm went viral. Charls’ farewell video rolled worldwide. The elephants were no longer just wildlife; they were international characters.
The Wisdom of the Silent Giants
To understand the chaos, I think of Bob Preller, “the Fossil,” who knew elephants deeply. In his book The Silent Giants of Southern Africa, Bob wrote that older bulls are the memory-keepers. They discipline the young, remember grazing routes, and guide with calm authority. Remove them, and chaos follows. Dinokeng became living proof of Bob’s wisdom.
Lessons from the Translocation
The Great Elephant Translocation of 2017 was more than logistics—it reshaped Dinokeng’s story. - Charls and Lumpy found new freedom in Zinave. - Hot Stuff became a cautionary tale. - Landowners learned that elephants aren’t problems to fix, but neighbors to respect. At Thorn Tree Bush Camp, we still missed Charls’ deep rumbles outside our fence. But the bush-veld never forgets. And neither do elephants.
Coming Next in the Series
This was Part 2 of the Elephant Journey. In Part 3, we’ll explore Hot Stuff’s troubled reign, the landowners’ attempts at coexistence, and the lessons giants leave behind.