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Rutendo Nyeve in Hwange
A wave of emotions enveloped the atmosphere as officials in the wildlife conservation sector watched as a carefree committee of vultures feasted on a baby elephant that had succumbed to drought in the expansive Hwange National Park in Matabeleland North Province.
The all-terrain Toyota Land Cruiser used for the game drive had careened along a rugged earth road with little effort and bumped into a helpless herd of elephants watching, probably mourning as vultures feed on one of their little ones.
The young calf had failed to reach a water point just 20 metres away and is now part of more than 123 elephant statistics that have succumbed to the peak of the El Niño-induced drought over the past three months.
The commencement of the rainy season, however, has brought relief to the animals in Hwange National Park where trees and bushes have begun to respond to the recent rains with a fresh green while puddles are gathering some water.
The giant national park has been littered with decomposed and fresh carcasses, leaving vultures and hyenas spoiled for choice.
Without a perennial river, Hwange National Park relies on both man-made and natural drinking pans. It has more than 100 boreholes that are strewn all over to enhance the water supply for the animals but this year things were a bit different and difficult.
The El Niño-induced drought has caused some of the sources to dwindle, forcing elephants — that prefer fresh water — to traverse long distances in search of it.
The situation has been exacerbated by a shortage of food, which has not only led to increased human-wildlife conflict as animals venture out of the park into surrounding communities but has also driven them to uproot trees in search of roots, threatening not only flora but potentially causing desert conditions.
A tour of the park organised by Zimparks last week revealed the sad reality of climate change-induced weather phenomena characterised by extreme conditions which have seen the tragic loss of elephants.
The numbers have escalated over the past two weeks, raising the elephant death toll to 123 between August and November.
Zimparks Public Relations Manager Mr Tinashe Farawo said most of the elephants that succumb to drought-related deaths are the young and very old that struggle to endure long treks in search of food and water.
“We are now coming to the end of the peak dry season because of the light showers that we have been receiving,” said Mr Farawo.
“If we look at the numbers recorded from August until the peak of the dry season, we have lost about 123 elephants, but we expect the numbers to drop because now we are receiving light showers right across the park.”
“This is a result of issues of climate change and low rainfall that we have been experiencing over the years. Most of the elephants affected are the young and the old because they cannot keep up with the pace of the animals moving through the water holes as they trek long distances in search of water and food,” he added.
Mr Farawo noted that carcasses are typically observed during game drives or when rangers patrol the area. They then report to their office that then collect the ivory for safekeeping, ruling out issues of poaching since the ivory remains intact. @nyeve14
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