The Parks and Wildlife Management Authority spokesperson, Caroline Washaya-Moyo, said in a statement that the current hot season has resulted in an increase in high temperatures which has accelerated the rate of evaporation of water from the holding pans.
Pressure on the few remaining water holes is also increasing owing to an increase in wildlife frequenting the watering points.
“This situation has obviously created a situation whereby pumped water is not adequate for game during the dry season. Water demand in the national park appears to be outstripping supply during the hot season,” said Washaya Moyo.
She said the parks, particularly Robins and Sinamatela camps, have already seen an influx of other wildlife species from neighboring Botswana.
Washaya-Moyo said her organization was appealing for financial assistance to avert a disaster in the park, similar to the devastating draught of 1992 where thousands of wildlife species died of thirst in the vast national park.
On Thursday last week, parks officials held a meeting with stakeholders at the Main Camp to try and solicit help for the dying elephants.
The stakeholders that have been engaged include Wildlife Environment Zimbabwe, which has already offered a dam scooper and a tractor. They have so far done three pans and these are Libingi, Makwa and Kennedy 1 and work is still in progress at other sites.
About 80 elephants succumbed to thirst last year in the park, which recorded a total of 35 deaths. She said the authority needs urgent assistance towards the resuscitation of borehole engines while the engines require constant repairs.
Main camp has a total of 39 boreholes, 32 diesel, two solar, four wind and one submersible while Sinamatela has eight boreholes, five diesel, two solar, four wind.
Robins Camp has two boreholes and both use diesel. Wildlife conservationists have also warned that Presidential elephants in Hwange Safari Lodge face a similar predicament .
Most of the animal drinking pans in the area have run out of water. The conservationists in the area have accused Hwange Safari lodge management of neglecting the watering pans and the area where the special presidential herd roam freely. The lodge which is owned by Dawn properties is being leased by African Sun.
Hwange National Park has an estimated population of 45 000 elephants against a carrying capacity of 30 000.
Post published in: News