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ZCTF
Report - January 2012
Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force (ZCTF)
January 17, 2012
Happy New Year
We hope all our readers had a very happy Christmas and we wish you
a prosperous New Year. We sincerely hope we will see an improvement
in the poaching situation in 2012.
Baby Elephant Rescued
A baby elephant was found wandering alone down the Kario/Makuti
stretch of road recently with no sign of any other elephants in
sight. It is believed that his family may have been frightened off
by something as their tracks lead far off into the bush.
After spending the whole day with him, Andries Scholtz along with
Bryce and Lara Clemence and others organised with National Parks
to have him taken to Kariba for the night and the following day,
he was taken to Mwanga Lodge just outside Harare where he is being
cared for by Gordon and Debbie Putterill. The baby elephant has
been named Kunda and Gordon and Debbie desperately need financial
assistance to pay for his upkeep. Although he is only 3 weeks old,
he will need 30 litres of special milk per day. If anyone is in
a position to help, please contact us.
Yesterday the ZCTF donated 50kg of milk formula to Kunda and I took
a trip out to Mwanga Lodge to deliver the donation.
We would like
to thank all those involved in the rescue of Kunda.
Animals
dying in Mana Pools
88 hippos, 45 buffaloes, 30 elephants and 2 kudus were found dead
in Mana Pools National Park. Tests confirm that the hippos died
of anthrax but the cause of death of the other animals has not yet
been confirmed. The carcasses of the dead animals are being burnt
to prevent the spread of the disease.
Rhino Losses in 2011
Zimbabwe lost 23 rhinos to poachers last year which was a slight
improvement on the 30 that were killed in 2010. Whilst the improved
figures are encouraging, it is still completely unacceptable for
even one rhino to be killed in view of the fact that they are an
endangered species. 37 poachers and illegal horn dealers were arrested
and a total of 100 rhino were immobilized for ear notching and horn
implanting to facilitate individual identification and monitoring
in the field. In addition to this, a US based animal protection
group, the International Rhino Foundation launched "Operation
Stop Poaching Now" to raise funds to equip rangers in Zimbabwe
and South Africa with kits to help them track rhino poachers.
South Africa suffered much higher losses last year. 440 rhino were
killed by poachers which is tragic.
Mining
activity in and near Hwange National Park
A fly over Hwange National Park has revealed that there are 3 coal-mining
developments, 2 adjoining the park and one actually inside the park.
The associated building of roads and increased human activity is
bound to lead to an increase in poaching as the area is opened up,
access becomes easier and there are more people in the area to carry
out the poaching and to buy the poached meat.
Of even greater concern is the total devastation of large tracts
of land in what was previously a wilderness area. It may not be
possible to restore the wildlife once the habitat has been destroyed.
According to the Park and Wildlife Act, nobody may mine within a
national park unless they have a written agreement from the Minister
of Environment and Tourism and to date, it has not been established
whether and of the 3 mines has such an agreement. In addition to
this, before any development takes place, an Environmental Impact
Assessment is required. The Provincial Environmental Manager for
Matabeleland North and Bulawayo Provinces was not aware of the mining
activities taking place, nor was she able to find any record of
Environmental Impact Assessments being done.
Ongoing
destruction in Chiredzi river conservancy
Further to our
September 2011 report,
the destruction being caused in Chiredzi River Conservancy by land
invaders continues unabated. They are cutting down huge riverine
hardwood trees at the junction of the Chitora and Mungwezi Rivers.
They are cutting everything right down to the river bed and the
damage they are causing is permanent. Piles of wood for sale can
be seen along the tar road.
Poaching is on the increase in all areas remaining with wildlife
and the wild elephants are still being threatened. Livestock and
people are putting pressure on the remaining wildlife areas. Game
fencing is being stolen to make wire snares and as fast as the fences
are replaced, they are stolen again.
Game guards and workers employed to try and control the situation
are being threatened with violence if the poachers' dogs get shot
while they are hunting.
Thank You
A very big thank
you to the following people who have assisted us with funds recently:
Carol Wales Smith
Chris Noon
John & Helen Buckle
Hugh Atkinson
Dorian Richardson
Casey Schadie
Teddy Fowles
Marja Kuiper
Liz Grainger
We would like to make a special mention of a donation we received
from Sarah McGarghan. Sarah has some photography business and recently
had a photo session called Buds and Buddies in which she invited
the participants (children aged 5 - 19) to decide which organisation
to donate a portion of events proceeds. One was a local food shelf,
one was a local disaster relief fund and the third was the ZCTF.
They chose the ZCTF and we would like to offer our heartfelt gratitude
to these children for assisting in the preservation of wildlife
in Zimbabwe.
Visit the ZCTF
fact
sheet
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