NKWE Mining Services

6000 animals were resettled into the game reserve over the course of the early 1980s with Operation Genesis which was the largest game translocation project in the history of the country. The 6000 animals were released into the quarantine area of 10 km 2 in groups and after a few weeks the fences were dropped. However leopard (Nkwe in Setswana) was naturally present. The surrounding area was called Mankwe (mother of leopards) region as it was a natural habitat for leopard species, hence the name Nkwe Mining Services. To this day, rumour has it that leopards (Panthera pardus) can be intermittently spotted outside the game reserve in the surrounding hills. The creation of the Pilanesberg Game Reserve is considered one of the most ambitious game translocation projects (after Noah's Ark) of its kind to be undertaken anywhere in the world. Operation Genesis is still the largest game translocation undertaken in the world, and as a result the park now has in excess of 10,000 animals. Vision Statement: