Arrr! Bein' a drought, 100 mighty elephants walk the plank in Africa's grandest park! Shiver me timbers!
2023-12-19
Arrr, the cursed drought hath claimed the lives of a hundred mighty elephants in Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park. Aye, the powers that be doth warn of dire days ahead, for the forecast be grim, portending even more scarce rain. Avast, we be in a potential crisis, me hearties!
In recent weeks, Zimbabwe's largest national park, Hwange National Park, has seen the death of at least 100 elephants due to drought caused by climate change and the El Nino weather phenomenon. Wildlife authorities and conservation groups are warning that more elephants could die as forecasts predict a scarcity of rains and rising heat in the southern African nation. The International Fund for Animal Welfare has described it as a crisis for elephants and other animals.Tinashe Farawo, spokesman for the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, stated that El Nino is aggravating an already dire situation. El Nino is a natural weather phenomenon that warms parts of the Pacific and affects weather patterns worldwide. This year's El Nino is expected to cause below-average rainfall across southern Africa, leading to a delay in the rainy season and a dry, hot summer ahead in Zimbabwe.
Authorities fear a repeat of the severe drought in 2019 when over 200 elephants in Hwange died. The most affected elephants are the young, elderly, and sick who struggle to travel long distances to find water. An average-sized elephant needs a daily water intake of about 52 gallons.
In response to the crisis, conservation groups, such as The Bhejane Trust, are assisting Zimbabwe's parks agency by pumping 1.5 million liters of water into Hwange's waterholes daily. These efforts are crucial as elephants play a vital role in fighting climate change by dispersing vegetation and enabling forests to spread and regenerate through their dung, which contains plant seeds. Trees, in turn, absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
The situation in Hwange National Park highlights the urgent need for global action on climate change to protect vulnerable wildlife and their ecosystems.