Southern African countries fear more elephant deaths

Countries in southern Africa are fear more elephants deaths due to the lack of water and food. Park rangers in countries such as Zimbabwe and Botswana are increasingly finding dead elephants.

Southern Africa has been struggling with heat and drought for months. This past year, there was no traditional rainy season, which reduced the availability of food and water for the animals.

Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia are responsible for the cross-border conservation area Kavango-Zambezi. This area is home to an estimated 227,000 elephants.

In Zimbabwe, 160 dead elephants have been found in Hwange National Park this year, according to news agency Reuters.

Representatives of the five countries met in Zambia on Thursday to discuss measures to prevent elephant deaths. One option is to dig extra wells in the Kavango-Zambezi conservation area.

Drought affects animals

Elephants are not the only animals affected by the drought. In April, Botswana raised concerns about the fate of thousands of hippos.

Many lakes have dried up due to the extreme drought. The endangered species needs water to prevent burning, overheating, and dehydration.

In the Okavango Delta region in Botswana, over 170 hippos became stuck in a shrinking lagoon near a rural village after the annual floods from the Okavango River failed to arrive last year.

In June, a team from the SAVE Wildlife Conservation Fund activated an existing borehole with a solar-powered pump to provide a steady water supply to the distressed hippos.