Environment

Elephants migrate out of Zimbabwe to save themselves

by Amy Judd | April 28, 2009 at 12:00 pm

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About 400 hundred elephants have migrated across the Zambezi River from troubled Zimbabwe to Zambia to get away from increasing poaching and loss of habitat due to human development and conflict.

The Zimbabwe Task Force and an animal group stationed there now have the authority to capture the elephants and take them to Chipinda Pools, 125 miles to the south before they are shot.

Johnny Rodigues, the head of the Task Force says:

"The problem is funding for the relocation," Mr Rodrigues said. State game rangers "won't wait much longer before destroying the elephants."

The Task Force has set up traps for the elephants so that they can be returned to their proper place but as the elephants are migrating, they are becoming hard to catch.
They need more money to operate.
Mr. Rodrigues says more fencing is needed around wildlife areas so that elephants can't run away when they get scared by gunfire.