Post date: Nov 24, 2013 3:11:42 PM
Mosi-oa-Tunya is the National Park that borders the Victoria Falls on the Zambian side. It runs along the Zambezi River but is being squeezed on all sides by the tourist town of Livingstone, new developments and farmers. It has over 300 elephants when its carrying capacity is around 190. With rampant poaching on the Zimbabwe side, it's believed the elephants are moving across to Zambia for refuge adding further stress on this small area.
LIVINGSTONE, ZAMBIA (REUTERS) - The Musi-oa-Tunya National Park lies just outside of Zambia's tourism capital, Livingstone and is split by a busy national road that connects the country to neighbouring Zimbabwe.
During the dry season from around March through to November, there is very little food for wildlife in the park.
Much to the delight of tourists, wildlife like elephants can bee seen crossing the road as they leave the park in search of food and water - pushed by the changing weather patterns and prolonged droughts of recent years.But it's a situation that has caused much strife between local communities and wildlife, as these elephants often end up in the farms nearby.
Local communities say they suffer from crop-raiding, damage to property and risk to human life.
Many farmers here say they are unable to grow anything, putting severe strain on their livelihoods.
"I'm really tired of these animals. I'm even thinking of selling this place because I am doing nothing. I can't go for vegetable, I can't plough anything," Florence Kalaluka, adding that she has given up on farming as elephants use his farm to get to the nearby Zambezi.
According to conservationists, the Musi-oa-Tunya National Park has the capacity to accommodate 100 elephants, but with increased poaching in Zimbabwe, many elephants are now coming across the river looking for sanctuary, putting strain on the entire park and increasing human and elephant conflict in Zambia.
"It can't sustain them. There is very little for them to feed on. You know, if you look at behind, that is the destruction that the elephants have caused to the park," said Joreck Chisika, Park Ecologist
Elephants, the world's largest land mammals, are under pressure in many parts of Africa from poaching, loss of habitats to farms and towns, pollution and climate change. Numbers have fallen to 470,000-685,000 against millions decades ago.
Chisika says the problem is compounded by human encroachment on important water resources and wildlife breeding grounds.
"I think we've also been very successful in making sure that these elephants are protected, but also, you know, the human population has increased, people are setting up new homes, new developments everywhere, even on elephant corridors. So what you see today on that road, the MOSI-OA-TUNYA road, those are established elephant corridors. They've always, always used those routes," he added.
Amidst increased complaints by local farmers that elephants have been damaging their crops, theZambian Wildlife Authority or ZAWA, has undertaken a few measures to assist residents.
One of the methods is sending out scouts to chase elephants away. They fire their rifles (AK47's) and give villagers large firecrackers.
ZAWA has also consulted conservationist Sandy Simpson, to test a lighting system used Kenyaagainst lion conflicts with the Maasai.
The system involves installing solar powered flash lights around a fence, to give the impression that someone is patrolling with a torch.
He says that due to their poor eye sight, the flash light also temporarily disables the elephants visual system.
"Here we've got the river and the elephants were always coming across from the other side and spreading into the farmlands over here on this side, and as soon as we put this in and connected it, it stopped the elephants immediately," said Simpson.
According to ZAWA, initial tests and experiments using the lighting system have proved encouraging, with some farmers reporting fewer raids by elephants in areas where the system was installed.