The Sunday News
Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority has bemoaned the prevalence of theft of solar panels and use of cyanide in poaching of wildlife especially elephants in country’s national parks.
In an interview, ZimParks director-general Mr Fulton Mangwanya said his organisation has escalated surveillance by increasing patrols and introducing drones in all hotspots.
“The issue of cyanide poaching is something that is actually disturbing us because whenever it is introduced, it kills elephants mostly. So, we have come up with counter measures and increased our patrols. We have gone a scale higher and we are now using drones to deal with poaching elements on all hotspots. In a way we are monitoring the protected areas throughout. No one is allowed into the park without authority. We have the right to shoot to kill. I would rather warn poachers and thieves to stay away to stay alive,” said Mr Mangwanya.
He said drones have come in handy in detecting intruders in the protected areas, at a time when ZimParks has a shortage of about 1 000 rangers. The organisation has a workforce of around 25 000. Mr Mangwanya said while drones are already in use especially in game parks especially in Matabeleland North, training is underway to capacitate rangers on how to use them.
He said poaching incidents which had declined by 75 percent, had started rising after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic which he said had incapacitated the organisation.
“As long as we have rangers on the ground poaching will drop. It had dropped by 75 percent and it’s rising now since the outbreak of Covid-19 because we are constrained in terms of resources to do the normal patrols that we used to do. Use of cyanide had also dropped in a way because we had penetrated areas where they were using it and made arrests. We hope Covid-19 will end soon so that some of the areas open for revenue to be able to finance operations. If we are allowed to open anytime soon and with the drones in the air, I think the issue of cyanide will be a thing of the past,” said Mr Mangwanya.
ZimParks is acquiring the drones in partnership with other organisations in conservation. Mr Mangwanya could not be drawn into disclosing how many drones had been acquired but said very soon they would have those that can spend six to seven hours on end in the air to add to the ones available.
He said the drones will also go a long way in monitoring vandalism of boreholes where thieves have stolen about US$50 000 worth of solar panels installed to pump water for wildlife in the Hwange National Park. Wildlife is one of tourism’s draw cards, with national parks receiving 957 752 visitors in 2018.
Meanwhile, Mr Mangwanya said the country had not recorded any elephant fatalities related to mysterious deaths in neighbouring Botswana where more than 100 jumbos have died. Authorities in the neighbouring country have ruled out anthrax, poaching and poisoning after initial tests, and have sent samples to South Africa to probe the deaths. @ncubeleon
