Four elephants found dead

Victor Maphosa Herald Correspondent
FOUR elephants were found dead on Monday in Victoria Falls, barely two days after a suspected poacher had been arrested while carrying four elephant tusks in Dete.

Three of the recovered carcasses had no tusks and preliminary investigations show that they could have been poisoned by cyanide.

Similo Vundla (53) of Dete, Mashonaland West, had the tusks on his bicycle when police arrested him.

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Nyathi confirmed the incident.

“The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) on March 14 arrested Similo Vundla near Marist Brothers under Chief Nekatambe, Dete while carrying four elephant tusks on his bicycle,” he said.

“He has since appeared in court. On March 16, four dead elephants were discovered in Victoria Falls and three of them had their tusks removed. Preliminary investigations point to poisoning by some salt laced with cyanide that was recovered at the scene.”

Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) spokesperson Mr Tinashe Farawo said the carcasses were discovered by a local herd boy.

“Yes, it is true that four dead elephants were discovered in Victoria Falls in the communal lands, outside protected areas,” he said.

“We suspect they were poisoned, and our suspicions were proven right after five tablets of cyanide were found closer to the carcasses.”

Mr Farawo said they were working with the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) to disinfect the area.