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Animals dying in dried-up Zim
18/11/2005 12:14 - (SA)
Harare - About 100 animals have died from dehydration due to drought in Zimbabwe's largest national park, said reports on Friday.
Edward Mbewe of the National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority said: "More than 40 elephants, 53 buffaloes, a giraffe, three zebras and two impala succumbed to thirst and blackleg, a disease that affects animals when the ground is too dry."
Wildlife authorities had recommended elephant culling in Hwange National Park to bring the population to "manageable levels".
Last month, the government announced plans to move elephants from the country's overburdened national parks to Namibia after at least 50 pachyderms starved to death.
Elephant populations concentrated
The elephants died in separate incidents in Hwange national park, Zimbabwe's dry southwestern region, prompting senior government officials to visit the area to investigate the cause of the deaths.
In May, the National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority invited Zimbabwean farmers who run private game reserves to buy elephants to decongest areas, where elephant populations were concentrated.
Zimbabwe had 100 000 elephants against its carrying capacity of 45 000, posing a risk to smaller animal species and placing a burden on scarce water supplies.
National parks chief Morris Mutsambiwa warned: "If trends continue at this rate, we are going to have a major disaster."
- AFP
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