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Tragedy in Hwange National Park
Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force (ZCTF)
March 30, 2007

On Saturday, 24th March 2007, two tourists were killed by a young elephant bull in musth. The tourists were part of a group who were walking with a game guide inside Hwange National Park.

During the walk, the young bull charged the group. The guide was knocked over after discharging his rifle but he was unable to stop the elephant.

We would like to offer our deepest sympathies to the friends and family of the deceased and to warn anybody planning a trip to Hwange National Park to exercise extreme caution whilst in the presence of elephants.

The elephants in Hwange do not have a peaceful existence. They have become increasingly skittish around humans because they associate them with gunfire due to subsistence poaching, commercial poaching (for ivory) and the fact that Zimbabwe is the only country in Africa where shooting game for weekly rations is legal. The recent removal of 12 juveniles from their herds for use in the tourist industry and elephants being trapped in wire snares doesn't help their mood either. Professional hunters and elephant researchers have stated that it is not usual for an elephant to charge and kill humans for no reason.

A recent newspaper article stated "Zimbabwe plans to cull its growing elephant population to limit damage to the environment and reduce conflict with humans". It went on to say that the elephant population has grown to over 100 000, more than twice the carrying capacity of 45 000.

We don't believe anyone really knows how many elephants there are in Zimbabwe. Research has revealed that in Hwange National Park, where there is the highest concentration of elephants in the country, the elephant population fluctuates between 25 000 in a dry year and 45 000 in a wet year. It is very difficult to ascertain the number of elephants we have in Zimbawe because they migrate between the neighbouring countries in search of water.

An interesting point is that according to a census conducted in Hwange National Park in 2001, which was an extremely wet year, it was estimated that there were 45 000 elephants in the park and a similar figure was estimated in 2006, another wet year. This suggests that the population growth has stopped because the figure for 2006 should have been in the region of 54 000, based on a 3.7% growth rate per annum. Even so, it cannot be concluded that there are 45 000 elephants in Hwange National Park because the estimates during the drier years were between 25 000 and 30 000.

With regard to elephant influence on other large herbivores, even though most herbivore populations have declined in parallel to the increase in the elephant population, research has been carried out and no drastic change in the vegetation structure at the landscape level could be identified. A paper has been published (Valiex et al.2007 in J Trop Ecol) that shows 2 vegetation structure maps of a study area in Hwange National Park. The first map shows the vegetation structure for the period 1979-1984 when there were approximately 13 000 elephants in the park and the second shows the vegetation structure for the period 1999-2005 when the elephant population had increased to approximately 35 000. It is quite clear even to the layman that the changes in the vegetation structure are minimal. If anyone would like further clarification or to see these maps, please email mvaleix@yahoo.fr

The Zimbabwean authorities' reasons for wanting to cull are:

• The elephant population has "grown" to over 100 000 - but there are indications that it is not growing at all in Hwange National Park and can they prove there are over 100 000 elephants? If the population in Hwange hasn't grown, then how can we assume that it has grown elsewhere? Despite poaching and other disturbances, the elephants in Hwange are probably safer than anywhere else.
  
• The elephants are damaging the environment - but research has been carried out that shows that the presence of large numbers of elephants in a specific area over a 20 year period does not cause any drastic identifiable changes in vegetation structure.
  
• There are increasing incidences of elephants attacking humans - but if the elephants were allowed to enjoy a peaceful existence and had not been given a reason to fear humans, they would not be acting in this abnormal manner.

If the authorities persist in claiming that there is a "population explosion" of elephants in Zimbabwe, surely culling isn't the only way of solving the problem. There are areas in Zimbabwe such as the Umfurudzi Wilderness where some of them could be moved to. Contraception is also an option. We believe that culling will only worsen the problem of the elephants' aggressive behaviour towards humans because it involves gunfire and trauma. Elephants targeted for a cull could conceivably communicate their trauma to other elephants within a 50km radius. It has been scientifically proven that they are capable of doing this. If this happened, they would be extremely dangerous to humans.

Johnny Rodrigues
Chairman for Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force

Visit the ZCTF fact sheet

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