Masvingo Bureau The elephant population in Zimbabwe has shot up to unsustainable levels with the head now estimated at over 100 000, more than double the country’s carrying capacity. Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) has since raised an alarm over the ballooning numbers that threaten to cause an environmental catastrophe. Jumbos in the […]
Masvingo — Zimbabwe’s elephant population has shot up to over 100 000 over the last decade with the situation now on verge of creating an environmental disaster. The jumbo population in both private and national sanctuaries has been increasing at a rate of around 5000 annually, which is way ahead of the carrying capacity. Parks […]
Twenty — seven people have been killed after being attacked by wild animals across the country since January while several others were injured as cases of human-wildlife conflict increase. Most of the fatalities were recorded in communities near wildlife habitats where animals are increasingly coming into contact with humans after straying in search of food […]
A man identified as Brighton Gandawa from Chitungwiza township in Kariba was early Sunday morning trampled to death by an elephant while returning home from a beer outing. According to residents who spoke to NewZimbabwe.com, Gandawa, who was a fisherman, was walking back home to Nyamhunga township from a beer binge when he met his […]
Police officers manning Sofia Police checkpoint in Busia Town were on Wednesday sent scampering for safety after discovering a three-metre long cobra in one of the bags they were checking. According to the officers, the owner of the bag, who was crossing the border from Uganda to Kenya through the Sofia porous border, escaped after […]
Tourism CS Najib Balala has made a U-turn on a controversial plan to privatise game parks and national reserves. Instead, Mr Balala said leasing out the spaces within the parks was the way to go in order to improve business. His response comes after stakeholders in the hospitality industry condemned a statement by Mr Balala […]
Namibia has recorded a drastic drop in poaching cases with only two rhinos poached so far this year compared to 13 poaching cases recorded at the same period last year, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism spokesperson, Romeo Muyunda said this week. According to Muyunda, the country’s investment in fighting poaching has resulted in […]
Uganda is turning to technology to fight poachers and wildlife trafficking. According to the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), the country secured funding from the United Nations Development Programme to procure surveillance drones that will man parts of its protected areas, which are not routinely patrolled by rangers, and camera traps that will help identify poachers […]
Poachers recently killed an elephant in Ogun State, south-west Nigeria. This was the second in the area in two years. It raises concerns about Nigeria’s dwindling elephant population. This is important as Nigeria is now one of Africa’s primary export hubs for ivory. It also raises concerns about Nigerians’ attitude towards biodiversity conversation. Awareness and […]
Kasane — Rhino poaching in Botswana is getting worse, and the government is not helping matters in any way due to its split attitude on the crisis. On the one hand, the government of President Mokgweetsi Masisi–in power since 2018–acknowledges the seriousness of the crisis but, when it suits it, the administration ambivalently denies any […]
Zimbabwe is considering mass killing of elephants for the first time since 1988 in a bid to reduce the 100,000 strong population of the animals and protect the environment. The proposed culling, along with a plan to sell 500 elephants to professional hunters, is part of the country’s efforts to depopulate its national parks, Environment […]
It’s a phrase that’s been on the lips of scientists, officials and environmental activists a lot in the last few months: ecosystem restoration. This year, 5 June, World Environment Day, marks the official launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, a 10-year push to halt and reverse the decline of the natural world. You […]
In the heart of Amboseli, a swath of fertile Nyika that extends to as far as the eye can see, the dream of a multimillion-shilling avocado venture at a place called Kimana will now be just that – a dream. For several months now, environmentalists have been battling with an investor, KiliAvo Fresh Ltd, who […]
Herald Reporter More than 20 cattle and 30 goats have been killed by lions and leopards in Pfundundu area of Hurungwe District this year as growing overpopulation of game in protected areas nearby drive animals into human settlements. In an interview Chief Chundu, Mr Abel Mbasera, said villagers in Pfundundu area Ward 7 are failing […]
The closure of the country’s sole Rhino sanctuary in Nakasongola District will have a devastating effect on the tourism industry as well as affect several projects that have been benefiting Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, including loss of jobs for many residents, local authorities have warned. Since its establishment in 2006, the Rhino sanctuary has been behind […]
The High Court will today decide whether to grant an application in which Rhino Fund Uganda (RFU) is seeking to stop their eviction from Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary in Nakasongola District. Mr Jamson Karemani, the court registrar, set April 26 for ruling after hearing of submissions in which Ziwa Rhino and Wildlife Ranches Ltd and its […]
The future of the northern white rhino, nearly extinct, has hope for a new generation of the rare pachyderms after BioRescue, an international team of scientists and wildlife conservationists, have produced four embryos, according to a statement released by the group. The embryos were produced in March from immature eggs (oocyte) harvested from Fatu, one […]
THE CENTRE for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG) has called on government to rescind its decision to open the country to trophy hunters with over 500 elephants to be placed under its hunting quota. The lobby group has advised the government to seek the support of international conservation organisations in finding additional resources to improve conservation. […]