Poachers kill seven elephants in Chiredzi

fears that well-connected poaching syndicates were behind the systematic killing of jumbos in one of Zimbabwe’s largest wildlife sanctuaries.
The carcasses of the seven elephants were discovered by parks officials in the Nyamutongwe/Mumvuma area in Chipinda pools and all had tusks removed.
Parks and Wildlife Management Authority public relations manager, Ms Caroline-Washaya Moyo, confirmed game rangers had also discovered some bullets inside the carcass of one of the elephants.
“We can confirm that seven elephants were killed by poachers in Gonarezhou National Park in Nyamutongwe/Mumvuma-Chipinda Pools.
“The poached elephant carcasses were located after surveillance.
“The area manager and some rangers then went to the scene of the crime and discovered two bullet heads from the body of one elephant and one spent cartridge was also picked,” said Ms Washaya Moyo.
Ms Washaya-Moyo said that preliminary investigations had shown that cross-border poaching syndicates might have been behind poaching.
Ms Washaya-Moyo revealed that they were working with local and regional law enforcement agencies to make sure that the upsurge in poaching was contained.
“Preliminary investigations reveal that poaching in Gonarezhou could be a result of cross boarder activities.
“All the elephant carcasses had their tusks removed and we have adopted a number of strategies to curb poaching of elephants and other endangered species in Gonarezhou National Park,” she said.
The parks authority, added Ms Washaya Moyo, was also in the process of mobilising human and financial resources to combat poaching activities especially in Gonarezhou National Park.
This is the second time that elephants have been shot and their tusks removed in wildlife infested Gonarezhou National Park. Gonarezhou National Park is now part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park after being joined with Mozambique’s Limpopo National Park and South Africa’s Kruger National Park to create arguably one of the world’s largest wildlife sanctuaries.