Zim elephant population drops

Source: Zim elephant  population drops | Daily News

Zimbabwe’s elephant population has declined by 10 percent over the last eight years, the Zambezi Elephant Fund (Zef) has said.
In a statement released last week to mark World Wildlife Day, Zef, which was formed in 2015 to actively address poaching in the Zambezi Valley, said elephants were now under increased threat.

“Zimbabwe is home to the world’s second largest population of African Elephant, and yet overall Zimbabwe’s elephant population has declined by 10 percent since the 2011 Great Elephant Census.
In the Zambezi Valley, African Elephants, amongst other species are under serious threat from poaching and over the past 13 years, 60 percent of the elephants in the Zambezi Valley have been lost,” read part of the statement.

Zef, which works collaboratively with the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority, NGOs and the private sector in the fight against elephant poaching, added that it remained committed to collaborating with other anti-poaching organisations.

“We at Zef reaffirm our commitment to working with the local authorities, as well as a collaborative group of implementing partners, to ensure the long-term protection and preservation of the Zambezi Valley, its habitats and its wildlife.

“Given their significance — not only as a keystone species to the survival and biodiversity of Africa’s ecosystems, but also as a major tourism attraction, it is vital that we as a nation step forward to ensure the protection of these intelligent creatures,” said Zef.

Though Zef is happy with what it has accomplished since it was established, it called on all those committed wild life preservation to partner with it in the fight against poachers. “In just three years Zef has made a real difference, supporting the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority and reinforcing the efforts of several on the ground implementing partner organisations.

“Zef has, in collaboration with our partners, built an anti-poaching reaction ranger base, conducted multiple aerial surveys, supplied equipment and rations, trained rangers and held collaborative workshops.

“There is, however, more that we are doing, and still so much more we can do and for this we need your help,” said the elephant protection group whose coordinator is Richard Maasdorp.