Story by Mhlomuli Ncube
CAUGHT between conservation and preserving human life in a drought year, when elephants stray into human settlements, the government has taken a bold decision to cull some elephants.
The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) says the planned culling of around 200 elephants will benefit vulnerable communities who have endured the menace of human – wildlife conflict.
The jumbos which have over-populated the country’s national parks have been a major source of human- wildlife conflict.
Zimparks’ spokesperson, Mr Tinashe Farawo said, “This is the first time that we are doing culling in more than 30 years because the last time we did culling was around 1987/1988. We are targeting about 200 elephants to feed the vulnerable and it is also going to help us to ensure that we control the population. We know very well that the elephants are causing a lot of havoc in communities and it will be worse if we move into drier months of the year, especially as we move into the onset of the rain season.”
Besides Zimbabwe, other regional countries including Namibia and Botswana are also grappling with the jumbo conservation challenge.
This has seen governments in the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier advocating for a culling system that will also benefit local communities
