PredatorBiologist

Luangwablondes posted this link on the other Zimbabwe bad news thread but I'm afraid not enough people will actually view that title.

http://tinyurl.com/2qpcen

In light of all the recent discussion about going to the Zim side of Vic Falls I think its important to note what is going on in this country. With the food shelves about to be completely bare it does not look good for the remaining wildlife. I know there is a big argument to keep visiting the parks that are open and hopefully that incoming currency will help secure the wildlife and keep some people employed but the way decisions are being made don't be surprised if you are on a drive in a park and see animals legally gunned down right in front of your eyes. Be sure and get some good travel insurance if you are planning to spend thousands to safari in Zim as things could change at anytime. I understand both sides of visit or don't and can't fault anyone on either side. Personally I will not return there and contribute any funds if its going to be open season in the National Parks.

Unfortunately it looks like its going to take starving people and no wildlife left to draw tourism before new leadership can rise to the top -- I weep for the many wonderful people stuck in this country.

CarlaM

So very,very sad.
I was reading this earlier on the same subject:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...e-animals.html

Diamantina

Thanks to both of you for passing on these articles, which I will share with others. My first trip to Africa was in May/June of this year. I visited South Africa only, but while I was there I heard and read so much about Zimbabwe. My husband and I also had many conversations with South Africans about what was going on in Zimbabwe, so when I came back to the U.S. it was still very much on my mind, yet there was so little news, even though its 11 million people are on the brink of starvation, even though opposition leaders, business people, journalists and many others have been arrested, even though its economy continues to crumble. There was so little info available here I even wrote to my favorite TV stations and asked that they cover Zimbabwe. One of them actually did! (Though I don't know if this had anything to do with my letter.)
For me, it was impossible to visit South Africa and not fall in love with it: its wildlife, its landscapes, its people, and more. In fact, my trip made me want to see more of Africa. So it pains me to read about Mugabe destroying Zimbabwe. When I got back to U.S. I wrote to my senators urging that they get tough with Mugabe--something I probably wouldn't have done before my visit to Africa.

HariS

That's a great deed, Diamantina....maybe more and more people need to write in too, to create an impact on their local senators? just a thought......

mossway1

I just returned from Zimbabwe two weeks ago. My perspective is that tourism is the only hope for preserving the parks there. Our camp (and most others) in Hwange was operated by Wilderness Safaris. Not only does that company employ local people to run the camps, but they also pay for anti-poaching rangers to patrol the parks and install, fuel and maintain the pumps that provide the water to all the watering holes for animals during the dry season. Without tourism and Wilderness, there would likely be no wildlife in Hwange. The bad economic conditions in the country have been going on for years and it does not appear that poachers have won the battle in Hwange yet. I know that the economy is getting worse, but hopefully Wilderness can hold the line. As of two weeks ago, the wildlife viewing in Hwange was spectacular.

My thoughts on the African Hunting website's commentary are that the elephant killing described could be part of a much needed reduction of the elephant population in some areas. We saw with our own eyes the overpopulation of elephants in Hwange. According to the statistics explained by our guides, there are three times as many elephants in Hwange today as can be suppported by the land. On our walks and drives we saw large areas where virtually every tree had been pushed over or dug up by an elephant in search of food. We watched as herd after herd came to the watering holes, competing with each other for space and resources. Organized culling of the herds was something that was discussed as a possibilty for Hwange (we also herd it was under consideration for Chobe in Botswana), but had not been implemented yet. I hate to think of elephants dying, but the extreme overpopulation will ultimately hurt the overall state of the wildlife in Hwange unless something is done about it.

(I also wonder about the objectivity of the hunting website. Could they be unhappy about government sponsored culling by rangers because it would reduce the number of animals otherwise available for paid hunts?)

Celia

It wouldn't hurt to write your senator, but I doubt that American policies or international policies of any kind will have any effect. They haven't had any for the last 26 years. After the war ended 27 years ago, Mugabe and all other parties to the war agreed to a democratic government with a parliament, a separate judiciary, and all the institutions necessary to a free and fair government. But less than one year after he was elected, he began dismantling these institutions. He didn't start messing with the economy right away; it took him a few years to start on that. But none of the international pressure brought to bear on him has done any good so far, he's only gotten more and more megalomaniacal. I don't see how there can be a happy ending at all.

divewop

Those stupid elephants! How dare they! What are they thinking?!
Don't they know better to encroach on humans' habitats?
Don't they know that they should stay in a confined area and not be the migratory animals they're used to being?
Don't they know to stop breeding to make way for more and more humans? And that humans need to hunt, kill and "cull" them because it's in their own "best interests."
And don't they know they're more valuable dead than alive? When will they learn?

Let's just kill them all and make an example out of them. That way, the human population can keep skyrocketing from the current six billion to an infinite number of people and we can just kill or "cull" every other animal that gets in our way too.

Geez!

luangwablondes

I wonder if Mugabe plans on leaving any ellies for the world largest game park.

"The planned conservation area will straddle the borders of Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe, forming the world's largest park by merging five national parks into one mega conservation area. The proposed "Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Park" will cost an estimated US$100m to initiate and received a major boost in July 2007, when three international organizations pledged nine million euros for the development of preparatory projects and the establishment of a permanent secretariat.It is hoped the park will bring in tourists with attractions such as the Victoria Falls, Okavango swamps, Chobe National Park and Caprivi Strip enveloped in the area. The officials believe it will also help regional tourism ahead of the 2010 World Cup taking place in South Africa, as well as job creation in the five countries. A meeting was held in Botswana's capital Gaborone, a week ago, for the five environmental ministers and conservationists from Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe to deliberate on the memorandum of understanding signed in Zimbabwe last year."