The National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority in Zimbabwe has become much more proactive over the last few years in protecting the rich and diverse wildlife of the country. On Tuesday the ranger service put in place an ambush following a tip-off that poachers would be targeting some of the few remaining rhinos left in the country.
Information led to an ambush for poachers.
Parks officers from Buffalo Range Airport had received information about a group that were heading to Chipangayi Game Park to undertake rhino poaching. Following the information the group were put under surveillance and an ambush was set up.
During a gun battle the rangers killed 3 of the poachers, two were placed under arrest and a further poacher managed to escape. The wildlife rangers recovered a rifle with silencer, ammunition, knives and phones.
Rhino poachers sentenced to 13 years.
This incident follows on from the arrest of two rhino poachers in the Chipangayi Game Park when assault rifles and ammunition were seized. The poachers tried to escape by crossing the border with Mozambique but the police and rangers who were conducting a rhino survey in the area at the time managed to capture them. They were sentenced to 13 years each following their trial in May.
Chipangayi Game Park is found in the Chipinge Safari Area in south east Zimbabwe. It is still relatively undeveloped as a safari location despite having a good selection of wildlife remaining in the region. The park is currently moving away from big game hunting tourism and concentrating more on photographic safari tourism.
Protecting rhinos in the proposed Limpopo Park.
The Chipinge Safari Area is part of the multi national conservancy project the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park Initiative. This will see major national parks and wildlife areas of South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe connected up and managed as a combined project.
300 rhinos poached in 5 years.
The Chipangayi Game Park is found in the Lowveld region Zimbabwe which contains about 80% of Zimbabwe’s remaining rhinos – about 350 black rhino and 170 white rhino. The region is home to the Lowveld Rhino Trust which takes care of injured rhinos and transplants rhinos from high risk areas – Zimbabwe has lost about 300 rhinos to poachers over the last 5 years – to areas of lower risk.
Higher penalties and a more proactive and aggressive enforcement policy has made a big impression on rhino poaching in Zimbabwe with known poaching incidents peaking in 2008 at over 70 to the latest figures last year showing less than 20 known poaching incidents.
External sites:
All Africa report on poachers killed.
Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park.
Lowveld Rhino Trust.
