113 wildlife deaths reported in Zambezi due to drought

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism has reported 113 wildlife deaths due to drought in the Bamunu conservancy of the Zambezi region.

The deaths of 20 elephants, 84 zebras, four buffaloes, three reedbuck, one eland and one baboon in the conservancy, which is situated south-west of Katima Mulilo, were reported between July and October.

Environment ministry spokesperson Romeo Muyunda confirmed the deaths to The Namibian on Friday, saying the drought has been so severe that it affected the grazing and water sources of the wildlife.

“The main issue causing so many mortalities is the lack of grazing and browsing materials. We have put in place several interventions to minimise the impact of the drought, which include drilling of boreholes to supply water for game. We have also implemented population management interventions such as the widely published culling” Muyunda said.

“The culling was misconstrued by some people worldwide who downplayed the severity of the drought and claimed that the cull was an election stunt. These numbers could have been higher if we did not put these interventions in place,” he said.

Muyunda added that the deaths of the animals should not be a cause for alarm, as there have been reports of rain across the country, which he said would hopefully improve the availability of water and grazing for wildlife.

“Moving forward, we are hoping that the rain patterns will continue to improve so that the situation normalises. We will continue to monitor the situation, implement interventions as required and provide public updates,” he said.