File pic of elephant horns
Whinsley Masara, Chronicle Reporter
POLICE in Matabeleland North have discovered two dehorned elephant carcasses at Hwange Main Camp that were allegedly poisoned with cyanide by suspected poachers.
An Anti-poaching patrol team discovered the decomposing carcasses of two elephants on Wednesday.
“Police and National Parks discovered two elephant carcasses that were at an advanced state of decomposition.
The elephants had been dehorned and police suspect the poachers are out there and investigations are underway,” said a source.
Matabeleland North police spokesperson Inspector Siphiwe Makonese could not be reached for comment on her mobile as her phones were not reachable.
Early this year, a suspected Zambian poacher was shot dead while another one was injured in Sibomvu area in the Pandamasule Forest in Matabeleland North Province.
Four suspected poachers believed to be Zambians had shot and killed an elephant in the forest between Victoria Falls and Botswana and the gunshots had alerted rangers on patrol resulting in one of them being shot by rangers.
In September last year, four jumbos were killed in Bulilima, adding to the nine that were reported in the Amandundumela area in the Gwayi Forest, Matabeleland North, in yet another case of cyanide poisoning.
The poachers escaped.
In March last year, three suspected poachers escaped after they were spotted by forestry guards in the same area. They left behind five kilogrammes of cyanide tablets suspected to have been intended for use in poisoning animals.
Elephant poisoning was first reported in 2013 when more than 300 jumbos died at Hwange National Park. — @winnie-masara.