As dawn broke over Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe, a poignant scene unfolded— an elephant gently guiding its calf to a stream, lions echoing their presence in the distance, and boisterous baboons pausing for a drink. The much-anticipated rains had finally arrived, casting a vibrant green hue over the expansive grasslands of the park, aptly named ‘place of elephants.’
Yet, amid this respite, discerning eyes could discern signs of adversity: the fractured trunks of majestic baobab trees and the battered umbrella-like acacia trees bore witness to the struggles of desperate elephants scouring for sustenance in the 1,900-square-mile sanctuary. In other wildlife reserves across Zimbabwe, the toll of climate change-induced drought conditions has been even harsher.
Tinashe Farawo, spokesperson for the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, described the denizens of Gonarezhou as ‘the fortunate ones.’ From his office in the bustling capital, Harare, he receives distressing reports from various national parks. ‘It’s normal for animals to die, but now they are dying young,’ he lamented. ‘They starve, they die. They get stuck in the mud desperately looking for water and they die. It’s heartbreaking.’
Though official statistics are still being compiled, Farawo revealed that 15 elephants perished in a week in Hwange, the country’s largest park, with an additional 16 buffaloes found lifeless. The duration and severity of dry spells have escalated, disrupting Zimbabwe’s traditional October-to-March rainy season, turning it unpredictable.
‘Climate change is turning out to be our biggest challenge,’ Farawo asserted. Unpredictable weather patterns leave animals without sufficient food and water. ‘Right now we are in November and most of the country still has no rains.’
This climate-induced crisis reverberates across Africa’s national parks, with numerous studies indicating the detrimental impact of extreme weather events on plants and animals struggling to cope with prolonged dry spells and escalating temperatures.
In a bid to alleviate the crisis, Zimbabwe’s parks agency has deployed 100 solar-powered boreholes to pump underground water into pools for animals. However, with surface water sources dwindling, animals are compelled to traverse longer distances, sometimes crossing national borders, in search of sustenance.
The Kavango–Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area, spanning five southern African countries including Zimbabwe, stands as the world’s largest multi-country conservation area. Encompassing 520,000 square kilometers, it offers a vast corridor for animals to roam freely for hundreds of kilometers. Many are opting for this option, according to Farawo, as the struggle for survival amid changing climatic conditions persists.
In the poetic dance of survival, Tinashe Farawo wryly notes, ‘We often quip that while humans stick close to home, our wildlife friends can savor breakfast in Zimbabwe, lunch in Botswana, and dine in another country.’ This whimsical observation captures the nomadic struggle etched into the lives of creatures navigating a challenging landscape.
The unforgiving environment takes a toll, especially on majestic elephants, as detailed in a recent symphony of research harmonized by scholars from Zimbabwe, Britain, and South Africa. Their melodic findings, unveiled in October through the pages of Nature Communications, spotlight a tragic crescendo—a blood-poisoning bacterial outbreak that claimed 35 elephants during Hwange National Park’s 2020 dry season. Heat, drought, and population density compose the haunting notes, as thorough tests resonate on the carcass canvas.
Zimbabwe’s vast expanses cradle approximately 100,000 savanna elephants, a riveting ensemble second only to Botswana’s 130,000. Over time, both nations have witnessed their elephant populations compose a grand symphony, echoing beyond the capacities of their parks. Climate change, wielding its conductor’s baton, intensifies the discord.
Feathered denizens, reliant on arboreal symphonies for nesting, face their own lyrical challenges. Baobabs and acacias, vital musical notes in their composition, fall silent as herbivores, led by hunger’s relentless beat, leave little for avian offspring. ‘Breeding cycles are constrained by tree heights,’ warns Farawo, casting a shadow on the ecological harmony.
Yet, the rising crescendo extends beyond the realms of nature. A dissonant cadence reverberates through Zimbabwe as communities, already navigating economic arpeggios, collide with wildlife venturing into human settlements. The parks agency becomes the conductor of a different ensemble, orchestrating responses to nearly 4,000 distress calls in 2022 alone—an escalating symphony of human-animal discord.
Residents, armed with trenches, bee hives, and pots and pans, strive for harmony but find discord in the intrusion of elephants into gardens and fields, disrupting even the flow of water pipes. In the eastern Manicaland province, a chilling refrain unfolds—a hyena, the maestro of desperation, taking a human life, tearing off lips and limbs. ‘It’s because the animals are looking for food,’ elucidates Farawo. ‘Hyenas, the indicators of nature’s melody, move in search when food becomes a silent note.’
The unique composition of challenges—climate change, population pressures, and resource depletion—paints a tapestry of harmonies and dissonances, a unique and evolving sonata where the delicate balance between humans and wildlife weaves a narrative of resilience amid changing chords.