Zimbabwe targets elephant population in drought response

Bloomberg reports that approximately 200 elephants will be targeted from the nation’s population of over 100,000. Park officials say the overall elephant population is double what the national parks can sustain. Tinashe Farawo, spokesperson for the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority said the cull falls within the country’s permitted hunting quota.

According to Farawo, the elephants will be removed from regions where their population has become unsustainable. The culling will occur in places like Hwange National Park, located in the dry western part of the country, where escalating competition between humans and wildlife for limited food and water resources has worsened due to rising temperatures.

Meanwhile, the University of Limpopo’s Victor Kgomoeswana told Newzroom Africa that the country has a population of elephants that exceeds its carrying capacity.

Future Media news last week reported that Zimbabwe and Namibia announced plans to slaughter hundreds of wild elephants and other animals to feed hunger-stricken residents amid severe drought conditions in the southern African countries.