Drought, climate change blamed for deaths of at least 100 elephants in Zimbabwe national park

At least 100 elephants have died in recent weeks due to drought in Zimbabwe’s largest national park, their carcasses a sign of what wildlife authorities and conservation groups say is a horrific sign of the impact of climate change and natural disasters. El Niño weather phenomenon.

Authorities have warned that more people could die as forecasts show scant rainfall and rising temperatures in parts of the southern African country, including Hwange National Park. The International Fund for Animal Welfare describes it as a crisis for elephants and other animals.

“El Niño is making an already dire situation even worse,” said Tinashe Farawo, spokesman for the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority.

El Niño is a natural and recurring weather phenomenon. Parts of the Pacific warming, affecting weather patterns around the world.Although this year’s El Niño phenomenon has brought Deadly floods hit East Africa Recently, below-average rainfall is expected in southern Africa.

The situation is already being felt in Zimbabwe, where the rainy season started weeks later than usual. Although some rain has fallen now, the summer ahead is expected to be dry and hot.

research shows Climate change could make El Niño strongerleading to more extreme consequences.

Authorities fear a repeat of 2019, when more than 200 elephants died in Hwange due to severe drought.

“This is something that is happening again and again,” said Phillip Kuvawoga, director of landscape programs at the International Fund for Animal Welfare, which sounded the alarm about Hwange’s elephants in a report this month.

Parks agency spokesperson Farawo posted a video on social media site X (formerly Twitter) showing A young elephant is struggling It got stuck in mud at a waterhole in Hwange that had partially dried up.

“The elephants most affected are young, old and sick elephants who are unable to travel long distances in search of water,” Farawo said. An average-sized elephant needs about 52 gallons of water a day, he said. .Farawo shared other images showing female elephants stuck in mud and another found dead In a shallow puddle.

Park rangers remove the tusks of dead elephants for safekeeping so the carcasses do not attract poachers.

Hwange is home to approximately 45,000 elephants as well as more than 100 species of other mammals and 400 species of birds.

Zimbabwe’s rainy season used to reliably start in October and last until March. Droughts have become erratic in recent years, with conservationists noticing longer and more severe dry spells.

Trevor Lane, director of the Bhejane Trust, a conservation group assisting Zimbabwe’s parks agency, said: “We will receive significantly less rainfall in our area, so droughts may return soon due to El Niño.”

He said his organization pumps 1.5 million liters of water a day into Hwange’s waterholes from more than 50 boreholes it manages in partnership with parks agencies. There are no major rivers running through the 5,600-square-mile campus, just more than 100 solar-powered wells that pump water for the animals.

Conservationists say saving the elephants is about more than just the animals. They are key allies in the fight against climate change through ecosystems, spreading vegetation over long distances through their droppings containing plant seeds, allowing forests to expand, regenerate and flourish. Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere that contributes to global warming.

“They play a much bigger role in reforestation than humans do,” Lane said. “This is one of the reasons why we fight to protect the survival of the elephants.”