(ANSA) – HARARE, SEPTEMBER 13 – Zimbabwe will cull 200 elephants as it faces an unprecedented drought that has led to food shortages, a move that will also allow it to deal with a growing population of the animals, the country’s wildlife authority said on Tuesday. The country has “more elephants than it needs,” Zimbabwe’s environment minister told parliament on Monday, adding that the government had instructed the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority (ZimParks) to begin the culling process. The 200 elephants will be hunted in areas where they have clashed with humans, including Hwange, home to Zimbabwe’s largest wildlife reserve, ZimParks director general Fulton Mangwanya told AFP. Zimbabwe is home to around 100,000 elephants and has the world’s second-largest elephant population after Botswana. Thanks to conservation efforts, Hwange is home to 65,000 of the animals, more than four times its capacity, according to ZimParks. Zimbabwe last killed elephants in 1988. Neighboring Namibia said this month it had already killed 160 wild animals in a planned cull of more than 700 animals, including 83 elephants, to cope with its worst drought in decades. (ANSA).
2024-09-14 07:21:28