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Slaughter of baby elephant
Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force (ZCTF)
February 18, 2007

One of the baby elephants that appeared to have been abandoned in the Sengwa basin

We have just received a very sad report from a gentleman named Dave who resides in the UK.

In October last year, Dave came to Zimbabwe to do a walk through the bush from Kariba to Binga. He deliberately timed his walk to begin at the end of October because he knew the hunting season was officially over by then but he was surprised to discover that hunting was still in full swing. Many of the hunters he encountered did not want him anywhere near their concessions and he was threatened with a "shooting accident". The day after he received the threat, National Parks picked him up and removed him from the area. He assumes they must have received a complaint about him from the hunters.

On the Eastern shoreline of the Sengwa basin, Dave came across 2 baby elephants that appeared to have been abandoned. One was very thin but alive and the other had been speared and butchered to death. Dave took another photo of the dead baby from a different angle.

One of the baby elephants that was butchered to death		Different angle of the butchered baby elephant

Dave was at a loss to understand why these 2 babies had been abandoned by their mothers because there was plenty of vegetation for the herds to feed on. The one baby was about 18 months old and the other, only a couple of months old. Knowing how closely mother elephants bond with their babies, he was mystified.

He believed he found the answer a few days later when he was at Makuyu Fishing Camp. He struck up a conversation with an employee of Ivan Carter Safaris which was situated nearby. Dave knew Ivan Carter so he asked the employee where he was. The employee replied that Mr Carter had taken a client to shoot a bull elephant. He then added that they had shot 2 cows earlier in the week. Although Dave has no proof, he feels sure the 2 cows were the mothers of the abandoned babies. He then asked the employee why he was still working long after the official hunting season was over and he replied that if clients were willing to pay, they would take them out any time.

If anyone would like to verify the facts with Dave, please email us at the address below as he has given us permission to release his contact details.

Johnny Rodrigues
Chairman for Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force

Visit the ZCTF fact sheet

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