Zimbabwe Moves 2, 500 Wild Animals Due To Never-Ending Climate Fueled Drought.

​apnews.com/article/africa-zimbabwe-animals-wildlife-elephants-4eeeeffe05f444e6b4e4779e954fff5b

"Project Rewild Zambezi" is underway, which will see 2, 500 wild animals moved from a Southern reserve to the Zambezi River region in the North. Although poaching continues to be a vile peril to wild animals in Africa, climate-change fueled drought is now one of the leading perils Africa's wild animals are now up against. The Southern reserve has seen never-ending drought which is pushing wild animals in to neighbouring communities, leading to increased human-animal conflict. 

The droughts are proving to be a serious problem as parks continue to struggle with overpopulation and a lack of food / water to accommodate the animals. Droughts not only cause a lack of available drinking water, they also prevent foliage from growing to feed the animals. This cycle pushes them outside of their habitats in search for food and often times, this search leads them to human-occupied areas. As we know, conflict with wild animals can lead to casualties, both in terms of animals, and humans, which is a disaster. 

Back in 1987, Zimbabwe held a massive cull to address over-population, but culls are simply a bandaid for a much bigger problem. As human populations grow, we take more land away from native species which puts more pressure on them to search for food and water. As we continue to take land for housing, development, and agriculture, the animals now are deemed "over-populated" and a cull is seen as a viable solution. Unfortunately, all we're doing is helping along the extinction of these species in order to accommodate humanity. We're constantly working against our own initiatives when it comes to conservation.

Project Rewild Zambezi will see animals like elephants, impalas, buffalo, giraffe, lions, and wildebeests moved over 700 kilometers to their new home. While this will save these animals and rewild the Zambezi region, we must also address the root cause of this necessary relocation; climate change. The fact is, because climate-change continues to be such a divided topic, we're moving too slowly on addressing our biggest short-comings when it comes to our carbon footprint. Look at the most recent devastating flooding affecting Pakistan; it's obvious that things are accelerating and we're not counter-acting things fast enough. How long until the Zambezi region is affected by humanity?

I applaud the efforts made to protect thousands of Africa's imperiled species but I also can't help but worry that this will only stall the inevitable extinction of some of Africa's most recognized and beloved species. What do you guys think?

HAPPY VEG