Zimparks Downplays Reports Of Massive Deaths Of Elephants In Hwange
The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority has downplayed reports of massive deaths of elephants and other wildlife in the Hwange National Park due to an El Nino-induced drought.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) recently said more than 100 elephants in the country’s largest national park died due to a lack of water attributed to an extended dry spell.
In a statement, IFAW landscape programme director Phillip Kuvawoga said:
Summer rains are five weeks late due to the ongoing El Niño phenomenon, as dozens of elephants have already died in Hwange National Park, the county’s largest protected area home to about 45 000 elephants. At least 100 elephants are already reported dead due to lack of water.
However, Zimparks spokesperson Tinashe Farawo on Tuesday told New Ziana that the situation was not as bad as it was being portrayed. Said Farawo:
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We have been having droughts over the past two years and rains have been inconsistent so what that means is that it will affect wildlife, but the situation is not as bad as we are made to believe.
The number of deaths measured against the population of our elephants; will not be felt.
The affected animals are mainly the old, young and the sick because they cannot walk long distances in search of food and water.
He said to mitigate the effects of climate change, Zimparks has drilled 100 solar-powered boreholes to pump underground water into pools for the animals to drink. Said Farawo:
Hwange alone is run on 100 per cent borehole water. We have 104 boreholes in Hwange as some of the measures we have put in place to ensure that animals have water.
However, because of this prolonged drought, some boreholes will not pump enough water for the animals since the water table has fallen.
News of the deaths of more than 100 elephants comes during COP28, while global leaders gather to determine ambition and responsibilities and identify and assess climate measures at the global climate change conference in Dubai.
Zimbabwe has for years been lobbying the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES) to lift the ban on trade in elephants and ivory.
The country says this will raise funds for conserving the animals, whose population has surpassed the carrying capacity of its national parks.
Zimbabwe has a population of over 80 000 elephants against the carrying capacity of its parks of 45 000.
This has become unsustainable as the animals are destroying the natural habitat and the
ecosystem.
However, animal rights groups oppose and argue that removing the ban on trading in elephants and ivory would result in increased poaching and illegal trade in ivory.
More: Pindula News
