buffaloes, impalas or even tightrings will also be transported from the Liwonde reserve, where poaching has decreased sharply, to that of Kasungu.
Le Monde with AFP
Nearly 250 elephants will be relocated by the end of July in Kasungu National Park, in the center of Malawi. The species, which still had 1,200 specimens about fifty years ago, almost disappeared from the region.
“Poaching has decreased and the number of elephants has increased. There are now 120 elephants, but the population is still too low to be viable. The introduction of 250 additional elephants will change this scenario,” said Knowing in a press release Patricio Ndadzela, who heads the Malawite branch of the South African Parks South African Conservation Organization.
The pachyderms will be transferred from Liwonde National Park, more than 350 km south of Kasungu, between June 27 and July 29. Buffaloes, impalas or even tightrings will also be transported from this reserve where poaching has almost disappeared and where certain species are overcrowd today.
tensions between men and animals
In 2016 and 2017, 520 elephants had been moved from Liwonde Park to lighten the pressure on their habitat and reduce tensions with the residents of the surroundings. “The number of [animals] increases, which exerts pressure on the natural resources of the park and creates situations of conflict with local communities”, explains African parks.
The Malawi is home to around 2,000 elephants. Southern Africa brings together 70 % of the population of the continent. Some countries in the region such as Zimbabwe, where the population of elephants is increasing and where fatal accidents with men have multiplied, demand a lifting of the global ban on ivory trade.
In other African countries, the situation remains critical after decades of poaching. According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the savannah elephant (Loxodonta Africana) is “in danger”, its smaller cousin, the forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis), is him in “danger extinction criticism “.