Threatened: Hundreds of elephants are to move home in the biggest wildlife transfer in Zimbabwe's history (AFP Photo/MARTIN BUREAU) |
Harare (AFP) - Zimbabwe’s wildlife agency said Monday it would move hundreds of elephants and other animals in a dramatic bid to save them from a lethal drought.
At least
120 elephants have already died over the past two months as the country
grapples with one of the worst droughts in its history.
"We
are moving 600 elephants, two prides of lion comprising between five and 10
members, a pack of wild dogs, 50 buffalo, 40 giraffes and 2,000 impalas,"
parks and wildlife authority spokesman Tinashe Farawo told AFP.
The animals
will be moved from Save Conservancy, a major park in southeastern Zimbabwe, to
three other game reserves.
"This
will be the biggest translocation in our history," said Farawo.
Permits for
the operation have already been secured, Farawo said.
The
transfer will start "during the rain season, when pastures and foliage
start flourishing," he added. The rain season usually kicks off from
around the middle of November.
"We
want to avoid a situation where we trans-locate animals, only for them to starve
to death because there is no food in their new habitat," he explained.
The
relocation was announced after the death of dozens of elephants in Hwange,
Zimbabwe's biggest game reserve, located in the northwest of the country.
Hungry
elephants have been breaking out of wildlife areas and raiding human
settlements in search for food, posing a threat to communities.
Farawo said
200 people have died in "human-and-animal conflict" over the past
five years.
Several
southern African countries are in the grip of one of the worst droughts in
decades, caused by months of above-average temperatures and erratic rainfall.
This year's
drought has wilted grasslands and dried up water holes, making it increasingly
difficult for animals to survive.
Botswana
last month announced that more than 100 elephants had died in two months in its
famed Chobe National Park.
The drought
has left more than five million rural Zimbabweans -- nearly a third of the
population -- at risk of food shortages before the next harvest in 2020, the UN
has warned.
Food
shortages for people have been amplified by the combined effects of drought and
the country's enduring economic crisis.
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