Conservation groups in Hwange are now rushing to drill more boreholes in a bid to spread the elephants out into areas where food is more readily available. They are also installing solar-powered systems on existing boreholes to extend pumping hours to meet the expected pressure in the hot season from August.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are aware that we might have an El Ni\u00f1o and a big drought in 2024,\u201d Lane said. \u201cWe will see what we can do to mitigate that, but it will just be survival of the fittest \u2026 if there\u2019s another drought we\u2019ll have to go through the same thing again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Droughts have caused mass die-offs of elephants in Zimbabwe before \u2013 in 2019, more than 200 died over two months due to a lack of water.<\/p>\n
Veterinarians and conservationists involved in Hwange said that elephants initially died in a cluster around one of the most used water points in the park. Later on, the deaths became widespread and were not appearing in clusters, they said.<\/p>\n
Another conservationist said that, during one count in September, more than 1,800 elephants were trying to drink from a single water source.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was horrible to see orphaned calves waiting aimlessly for death, and it\u2019s horrible to drive around seeing and smelling dead elephants,\u201d said the conservationist, who declined to be named because they did not have permission from Zimparks to comment on the deaths.<\/p>\n
They added: \u201cWhat we need to panic about is the possibility that climate change will make this year\u2019s losses of animals due to dry weather look normal.\u201d<\/p>\n
As drought conditions worsen, a resurgence in poaching is also threatening Zimbabwean elephants and other wildlife. Six new deaths of elephants were recorded in January in Gwayi, an area just outside the Hwange park, and have been attributed to poaching by conservation and environmental law groups.<\/p>\n
Zimparks confirmed these deaths, and said veterinarians were still investigating their cause. Environmental groups say the tusks had been removed from the elephants, indicating ivory poaching.<\/p>\n
The Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association said in a statement that \u201cthe poaching incident in Gwayi unfolds against a backdrop of escalating illegal wildlife trade and wildlife crimes\u201d.<\/p>\n
Lane said there has been a \u201cgeneral increase in bushmeat poaching, which from our own experience and [that of] other organisations can be attributed to the economic situation\u201d in Zimbabwe. \u201cPeople are getting desperate and resorting to the poaching of wildlife,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n In December, with the lean season approaching, USAid\u2019s Famine Early Warning Systems Network said that \u201cmost poor households\u2019 own-produced food stocks have depleted\u201d, and most of the country\u2019s food security was at either \u201cstressed\u201d or at \u201ccrisis\u201d levels.<\/p>\n Nick Long, who undertakes anti-poaching patrols and programmes in Hwange, also confirmed \u201ca surge in bushmeat poaching countrywide\u201d, especially from November into December. \u201cIt [bushmeat poaching] was very noticeable in the Victoria Falls area. Our sister organisation, Victoria Falls Anti-Poaching Unit, has had a busy December chasing poachers around,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Zimparks said that it was \u201con top of the situation when it comes to poaching\u201d of elephants in Zimbabwe. \u201cWe have not been losing many animals. In Hwange, we haven\u2019t recorded any poached elephant in the past two years. We need to continue doing law enforcement and patrolling,\u201d said Farawo.<\/p>\n