Elephants Fall Prey to Drought in Zimbabwe National Park

Dozens of elephants have died in Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe due to severe drought. (Needpix)

More than 50 elephants have died in Zimbabwe’s largest game reserve over the past two months, according to the Zimbabwe Parks and Management Authority (Zimparks). The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Company (ZBC) reports that the Hwange National Park, where the elephants were found, has become increasingly inhospitable for the animals due to a variety of factors, including drought and habitat loss.

The Hwange National Park has been experiencing a severe drought for months, which experts are attributing to climate change. The drought and subsequent water shortage has led to competition for water among the park’s 45,000 elephants. ZBC reports that many of the elephant carcasses were found within 50 meters of water sources. Ecologists say this shows that current water sources are too far apart, as the elephants are succumbing to dehydration traveling between sources. 

Zimparks cites climate change-induced drought as the primary cause  for the death of the elephants, with Zimparks Public Relations Manager Tinashe Farawo describing the situation as “dire.” Farawo also noted that as the drought intensifies, it will become increasingly common for elephants to wander into local towns in search of food, resulting in dangerous human and elephant interactions. Twenty people have died after coming into contact with elephants since January, according to Farawo.

Farawo also says that the park’s remaining elephants are still at serious risk of dehydration, prompting Zimparks to seek additional funding to drill more boreholes, according to the ZBC. These boreholes pump water from underground in order to fill surface-level water pans from which elephants are able to drink from. According to Hwange Zambezi Cluster Manager Samson Chibaya, there are simply not enough boreholes to compensate for the current drought.