Six adult elephants were poisoned, killed, and their tusks removed last week at a watering hole at Gwayi, Shangani wildlife conservancy, which is close to Hwange National Park by suspected poachers who allegedly used a deadly chemical.
The incident has been confirmed by Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks), which said investigations were still ongoing to establish the cause of the deaths.
“We have an incident where six elephants were found dead in Gwayi/Shangani area but we cannot ascertain the cause of the death because the elephants were found in a decomposing state,” said ZimParks Spokesperson, Tinashe Farawo
“Our veterinary doctors are investigating the cause but at the moment we do not know what happened so we can’t really say it’s poisoning because we can’t confirm that.”
However, wildlife sources in that area claimed the animals were killed by cyanide laced on one of the water sources there.
“We strongly suspect that the bull elephants were poisoned using cyanide. Their decomposing carcasses were found about 100 to 300 metres apart along a pathway which the animals usually use when going to drink water,” said a local wildlife conservationist who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.
“Another factor which suggests the elephants might have succumbed to poison is there were no animal scavengers or even maggots at the sight.”
The wildlife conservationist said the elephants had all been dehorned, suggesting that their killings were motivated by poaching.
In 2013 more than 80 elephants were killed in a similar way by ivory poachers in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe’s largest game park.
Elephants poaching is seen as a lucrative business for poachers who allegedly supply the tusks to Asia where a high demand is reported,
