Elephant activity is causing substantial baobab mortality in Mapungubwe National Park. Between 2022 and 2026, elephants killed more than 50 baobabs, representing an estimated 10% of the park’s baobab population.
In 2022 the Baobab Foundation did a study found that wrapping baobab trunks in wire mesh was an effective method of protecting the trees from elephant damage. However, because of the park’s proximity to the Zimbabwean border, the mesh was stolen from all protected trees near the Limpopo River in the eastern part of the park. Following the removal of the mesh, many of these trees have continued to be heavily utilised by elephants, and several have subsequently died. Consequently, the baobab population in the northern part of the park remains under significant threat.
Sylvatica Bioprotect is a commercially available product that is claimed to be 100% effective in protecting trees and infrastructure from elephant damage. According to the company, the product contains “a blend of scent cues that elephants instinctively avoid”, thereby creating a “clear ‘keep-out’ signal that elephants respect”.
Dead baobab in Mapungubwe National Park
In May 2026, before the beginning of the dry season, 20 kg of Sylvatica Bioprotect product was purchased to test its efficacy on protecting baobab trees in the park.
The product comes as a powder which had to be diluted in water with the instruction to dilute 20 kg of powder in with 250 litres of water. We used 10 litre knapsack pressure sprayer into which we mixed 1.3 kg of powder, following the rate of dilution. Once diluted each baobab was sprayed from ground up to about three meters in hight up the stem and around the whole tree. Due to the thickness of the mixture the spray nozzle had to be opened wide to stop the nozzle from clogging, this resulted in the sprayer producing narrow jet of liquid rather than a wide fine mist. The parts of the stem that were sprayed stained a red colour so it was easy to see the extent of coverage.
Twenty three baobabs were treated with Sylvatica BioProtect and twenty one trees were left untreated as control trees. After the dry season in October 2026 the treated trees and untreated trees were evaluated for damage. We found that the Sylvatica BioProtect did not effectively protect baobabs from elephant damage. Most importantly, elephants continued feeding on treated bark: 78% of treated trees were damaged, with no statistically significant difference in either the number of damaged trees or the extent of damage compared with untreated trees. See technical report here.
Despite these findings, efforts to identify an effective method of protecting baobabs in the northern part of the park will continue. Because elephants fed through the sprayed sections of bark, a further trial will assess whether complete stem coverage improves the product’s effectiveness. In March 2027, Sylvatica BioProtect will be reapplied to the entire stem using a paintbrush and ladder, and its effectiveness will be evaluated at the end of the 2027 dry season.
