Wildlife depletion killing tourism
“The magnificent spectacle of African wildlife is a key factor in Zimbabwe’s
tourism success,” the embassy of Zimbabwe’s Travel and Tourism website page
rightly put it.
It added: “Tourists are either moved or excited by the sight of a herd of
elephants moving with a ponderous grace to the waterhole, or rolling in
mud-baths like children at play…”
I don’t know how you will decipher this, but to me it means that the
Zimbabwean government has full knowledge of our wildlife’s worth; not just
to maintain an ecological balance, but also to bring in the much-needed
revenue from the tourism industry.
Considering this, it then boggles the mind when one considers the poor
wildlife management tactics currently being employed in Zimbabwe, resulting
in very little remaining of the wildlife that infested the country, say 20
years ago.
On their seven-day tour itinerary, Destiny Travel & Tours, a local travel
and tour company wrote: “Not guaranteed is the chance to come across
lions…fingers crossed for the best of luck in Africa.”
As disappointing as this might sound to someone planning to visit Zimbabwe
and obviously hoping to come up-close and personal with the wildlife that is
often associated with the allure of Africa, I applaud the company for their
honesty!
As much as the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority would love
for us to keep on believing that the country still has an abundance of
wildlife, the situation on the ground spells otherwise.
However, because the wildlife audits have not been carried out in a long
time, it is still difficult to say with certainty just how much wildlife is
left.
A drive around the country, especially if it is through game park areas,
previously guaranteed one an encounter with all sorts of animals, the Big
Five included. Now, you should consider yourself very lucky to spot any one
of the magnificent creatures.
When you are lucky enough to, the experience is no longer as pleasant as the
animals are continually withdrawing as they now evidently perceive humans as
foes.
Conservancies that used to be home to a great number of our wildlife have
long been invaded by people whose motives clearly have nothing to do with
wildlife conservation. Considering that these areas are in climatic region
five where conventional agriculture cannot thrive owing to the extremely dry
weather conditions, one would wonder why the sudden interest in these areas,
if it is not for personal gain from the wildlife resources in the areas,
and the trees.
Johnny Rodrigues, chairman of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force has
reiterated on the fact that the invasions have “nothing to do with
conservation” and warned that animals would continue to be killed for
personal gain.
And true to Rodrigues’ word, very few of the vast number of elephants that
were home at the now invaded Chiredzi River Conservancy are said to be left.
Hunting animals for the pot has been a practice that has been in place since
time immemorial, but this used to be conducted in a sustainable manner. The
killing of elephants and rhinoceros currently going on can only be aimed at
profiteering from their tusks and horns, at the expense of our wildlife
population, which is fast dwindling.
Now that we seem to have settled for destroying the wildlife resource, we
might also need to settle for a serious drop in the country’s appeal and
subsequently less tourists.
By Chipo Masara
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