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http://www.wildlifephotographyafrica.com/hwanges-dilemma/ Hwange’s Dilemma (Please excuse the fact that this is a terrible over-simplification of the issue, but I’ve strived to keep it concise) Hwange is the largest Park in Zimbabwe occupying roughly 14 650 square kilometers. It is one of THE places to see elephants in Africa. According to a 2015 pan-African census it is home to 44,000 elephants, roughly 50% of Zimbabwe’s elephant population. If you want to see elephants, then Zimbabwe’s Hwange NP is a great place to visit............ |
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No shortage of Jumbo in that part of Africa |
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I have been told by some when I was in Zim that the park is carrying about 20 times the ele population that it can sustain. When Eles denude an area it not only destroys the area, a lot of other animals are killed off and some species have become extinct because of this. |
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When I was there in 99 it looked like a "daisy cutter bomb" had gone off in a stockyard. The ground was powder and every bush seemed to be off at about 4 foot off the ground due to elephant damage. I believe that they had stopped culling due to not being able to store more tusks/ivory ban. Christ knows what it'd be like now. |
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Still highly overpopulated with mass deforestation, particularly evident during the dry months |
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When I was there and visited much of the Park in 1994 most of the forest in the centre and Western side of the Park had already been decimated by elephants with all trees lopped off by elephant at a certain height. If the population of elephants continued and increased over the next twenty years, the damage must truly be horrendous. "Conservationalists" I spoke to back then refused to recognise it as a problem ... guess there was no money in their pockets from elephants being a problem ... |