Harare, (New Ziana)-The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) announced on Wednesday it had issued a permit to Save Valley Conservancy to cull 50 elephants, a move expected to keep jumbo numbers to sustainable levels for the environment.
In a statement, Zimparks said according to a 2024 aerial survey, there were 2 550 elephants in the conservancy, against its carrying capacity of 800 elephants.
The authority said Save Valley Conservancy already moved 200 elephants to other reserves over the past five years to try to manage its elephant population.
Zimparks said the meat from the cull would be distributed to communities while the ivory will go to the government.
“ZimParks has issued permits to Save Valley Conservancy for an elephant management exercise. The management quota is meant to address the growing elephant population and protect the wildlife habitat,” the authority said.
The country’s elephant population continues to rise, leading to a surge in human wildlife conflicts as elephants encroach onto areas inhabited by villagers in search of food and water.
With about 100 000 elephants, Zimbabwe has the world’s second largest population after Botswana and about one quarter of the elephants in Africa.
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