300-year-old Limpopo baobabs seized in Durban after foiled poaching attempt

Five ancient baobab trees, some estimated to be 300 years old, have been intercepted at Durban port following an alleged illegal export attempt to Georgia.

The massive centuries-old trees were uprooted in South Africa and destined for export to Eastern Europe.

However, authorities discovered that the exporter lacked the environmental permits required to transport and export the protected species.

The trees, weighing up to 30 tons each, remain impounded at a Durban logistics warehouse while a criminal investigation continues.

According to the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), the exporter subsequently applied for retrospective permits. These were rejected.

“The department refused to issue a license retrospectively to regularise allegedly illegal criminal activities,” the department told the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).

Why the baobabs are protected

South Africa’s indigenous baobab trees are protected under the National Forests Act.

It is illegal to cut down, harvest, transport or export live specimens without explicit authorisation from environmental authorities.

While processed baobab products can be traded under strict licensing conditions, the export of living trees is tightly restricted.

The five trees were reportedly removed from Limpopo’s Waterberg District. Botanists and conservationists say their removal represents a significant loss of natural heritage.

Dr Sarah Venter, a baobab expert and founder of the Baobab Foundation, said two separate pieces of legislation required approval for the trees to be uprooted.

“They didn’t have either,” she told OCCRP, adding that she hoped the trees could still be saved.

“I am hoping that the trees will be returned to Limpopo Province, where they came from, and replanted into their natural environment,” she said.

Georgia connection under investigation

The seizure coincides with reports linking a planned baobab delivery to a property associated with Georgia’s billionaire former prime minister, Bidzina Ivanishvili.

Ivanishvili previously imported eight baobabs from Kenya between 2022 and 2023 for his public dendrological park in Georgia. All eight reportedly died in 2024.

The episode caused controversy in the East African country, and the export license was suspended.

At the time, Kenyan horticulturist and activist Wambui Ippolito condemned the attempted export, saying the trees were “highly revered.”

“[Ivanishvili’s] behaviour is what happens when a human being is so divorced from a nature consciousness, he begins to believe he has dominion over it,” she said.

Ippolito compared their export to a Kenyan investor “arriving in Georgia and deciding to collect mountains.”

Under South African law, those convicted of violating the National Forests Act face a fine, imprisonment of up to three years, or both.

Meanwhile, logistics company Africa Global Logistics said it halted the shipment when regulatory concerns emerged. It added that it was cooperating with authorities and faced no criminal charges.