Zimbabwe tracks elephants with collars to reduce conflict
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Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, working with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and funding from the Dutch Postcode Lottery, recently placed GPS-enabled satellite collars on six African savannah elephants near Hwange National Park.
The collars send location information to conservation teams, allowing them to monitor the animals’ movements and anticipate potential conflicts between elephants and people. This latest effort increased the number of collared elephants in the ongoing program to 30.
IFAW explained that the data helps researchers identify important areas for elephants, map wildlife corridors, and improve land-use planning. Phillip Kuvawoga, IFAW senior director for the landscape conservation program, stated that this work shows “how science and technology can strengthen conservation efforts.” The project is part of IFAW’s Room to Roam initiative, which aims to protect connected habitats for wildlife across 320,000 square kilometers in Eastern and Southern Africa.
Zimbabwe is home to a large elephant population, and Hwange National Park provides key habitat for the species. The collars will help conservationists protect both elephants and the communities who live nearby.
