On paper, Zimbabwe is winning the fight against poaching. In places such as Hwange National Park, the numbers tell a hopeful story. Elephant poaching has fallen sharply. In the past five years, recorded cases dropped from roughly 100 elephants killed annually in and around Hwange to about 20 animals poached outside the park in 2025, with none killed inside the park for two consecutive years. These are not small gains. They represent years of effort by rangers, communities, conservation organisations and government agencies working together to protect one of Africa's most important wildlife strongholds. But while poaching is declining, wildlife crime itself is not disappearing. It is evolving. Unless Zimbabwe confronts the syndicates that finance, organise and profit from this trade, we risk celebrating short-term victories while losing the long-term war. The foundation of Zimbabwe's recent success is community engagement. I began my conservation career as a ranger without a uniform, living with communities, listening to them and understanding their frustrations. For years, people living along park boundaries suffered the costs of wildlife without seeing the benefits.