Climate change: 2.500 animals relocated.
Zimbabwe has begun moving more than 2.500 wild animals from a reserve in the south to one in the north of the country to rescue them from drought, as the ravages of climate change replace poaching as the biggest threat to wildlife.
Around 400 elephants, 2.000 impalas, 70 giraffes, 50 buffalo, 50 wildebeests, 50 zebras, 50 eland, 10 lions and a pack of 10 wild dogs are among the animals being transferred from Zimbabwe's Save Valley Conservancy to three reserves in the North, Sapi, Matusadonha and Chizarira, in one of the largest capture and relocation exercises of live animals in Southern Africa.
Rewild Zambezi Project
Operation “Project Rewild Zambezi” simply means moving the animals to an area in the Zambezi River valley to rebuild wildlife populations there, in order to try to tackle the problems caused by climate change.
It is the first time in 60 years that Zimbabwe has embarked on a mass domestic wildlife movement. Between 1958 and 1964, when the country was Rhodesia ruled by a white minority, more than 5.000 animals were transported in the so-called “Operation Noah”.
This operation rescued wildlife from rising water caused by the construction of a massive hydroelectric dam on the Zambezi River that created one of the largest man-made lakes in the world, Lake Kariba.
Impact of climate change
This time, it is the lack of water that has made it necessary to move the wildlife, as their habitat has been parched from the prolonged drought, said Tinashe Farawo, a spokeswoman for the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority.
The parks agency has issued permits to allow the animals to be moved to prevent, due to climate change, “disaster happening”, Farawo said, adding:
"We are doing this to relieve the pressure."
"For years we fought poaching, and when we won that war, climate change emerged as the biggest threat to our wildlife."
"Many of our parks are becoming overpopulated and there is little water or food."
"Animals end up destroying their own habitat, becoming a danger to themselves and invading neighboring human settlements in search of food, resulting in incessant conflicts."
Sapi reserve
One of the new homes for the moved animals in Zimbabwe is the Sapi Reserve. The 280.000-acre private concession lies just east of Mana Pools National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site known for its splendid location along the Zambezi River, which forms the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia.
Sapi "is the perfect solution for many reasons," Great Plains CEO Dereck Joubert said on the foundation's website, adding:
"This reserve forms the biosphere of the middle Zambezi, totaling 1,6 million acres."
“From the 1950s until we conquered it in 2017, decades of hunting decimated wildlife populations in the Sapi Reserve.”
“We are restoring wildlife and restructuring nature back to what it was before.”
What do you think about this situation? And what do you think of this drought caused by climate change? We want to know your opinion, do not hesitate to comment and if you liked the article, share and give a “like/like”.
Picture: © 2022 Thoko Chikondi
