National Parks and the Bumi Anti Poaching Unit (dressed in Green) from left to right: Danny Mukonka, Anusa Majomba, National Parks Representative, Osman Mabhechu, National Parks Representative and Edmore Kapandura
Poaching in Zimbabwe, like anywhere in the world, is an ongoing social and economic problem. As a result the safety and welfare of the wildlife in Zimbabwe’s Parks has been severely threatened.
The added support of the National Parks’ scouts during the Unit’s patrols over the last four months, has led to the retrieval and disposal of over 1000 snares. The initial threats of beatings and death issued to the Unit by some local poachers have also subsided.
In an effort to curb the brutal business of poaching, Bumi Hills Safari Lodge has dedicated time, money and every other available resource to saving the wildlife in the area. One of the Bumi Hills Anti Poaching Unit’s senior scouts, Edmore Kapandura, proudly states that since the Unit’s inception in 2009, they have already seen noticeable signs of a reduction in poaching activities, and an increase in the animal population in the area. “In the past we used to find more snares and fewer animals, but now we can spend a week or more without finding snares or signs of people moving through our area. This makes us happy because we are directly contributing to the protection of our wildlife”, he says. Although mindful of the fact that poaching may never be totally eradiated, the Bumi Hills team is optimistic about the future of the wildlife in their area, and it’s through their hard work and increasing levels of tourism that there will be a dramatic decline in the poaching levels.
