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A male elephant has been killed by poachers in Hwange National Park, the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) has said. The carcass was discovered in the Main Camp area of the park with one tusk missing and flesh removed from its leg. ZimParks spokesperson Mr Tinashe Farawo said the jumbo might have been dead for about two days at the time of discovery. He said a distinctive shoe spoor was found at the scene, and a joint investigation with the Zimbabwe Republic Police is now underway.

Plant poaching has been the final straw for some. Conservationists say there’s no time to lose, as they consider an ecological triage for the most at-risk species here. "The most important thing we can do is to reduce other threats on these species, to make sure that the pressure of land transformation, for agriculture, for mining, overgrazing, and, of course, succulent plant poaching, all of these disrupt those systems and really reduce the resilience and the opportunities they have to adapt on their own.

The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) has opposed a proposed mining project targeting the Sinamatella Black Rhino Intensive Protection Zone in Hwange National Park. ZimParks has called on the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development to reject such applications. The Authority's spokesperson, Mr Tinashe Farawo said allowing mining in the ecologically sensitive area will pose a threat to the endangered black rhino population, disrupt wildlife habitats and undermine Zimbabwe's reputation as a leader in sustainable conservation.

South Africa has faced a surge in poaching of rare succulents by criminal syndicates since 2019. A recent spike in prices paid for a different kind of plant, a drylands-adapted lily, the miracle clivia (Clivia mirabilis), has drawn the attention of plant-trafficking syndicates to the lone reserve where it grows. Large numbers of clivias have been seized by law enforcement, raising fears that this rare plant is quickly being wiped out from the limited range where it’s known to occur.

The courts have intensified the fight to combat breaches of wildlife laws with the Harare Magistrates Court dedicating Court 5 to deal with such issues, acting Deputy Prosecutor General Mr Michael Reza said yesterday. He told the Zimbabwe Animal Law conference in Harare yesterday that since the beginning of the year, nine cases have been completed while 12 new cases have been recorded. From January 2020 to date, 45 cases involving breaches of the parks and wildlife law have been prosecuted at the Harare Magistrates Court, and Mr …

Two hundred kilogrammes of shark fin were seized at Maputo International Airport two weeks ago, but the case is still under investigation and the Director general of Mozambique’s National Administration for Conservation Areas (ANAC), Celmira da Silva said he could not provide further details on the subject. Integrity Magazine tried to question who owned the cargo as well as its origin and final destination, but without success.

A Mozambican court has sentenced a poacher to a 30-year sentence, the second such maximum term handed down this year and evidence of a crackdown by the country's judicial and conservation authorities against the illegal wildlife trade.