Every year, thousands of travelers from all over the world
visit the Victoria Falls, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Zimbabwe and
Zambia, to watch the waters of the Zambezi River thunder into the deep
Batoka Gorge, and to appreciate the abundant wildlife that roam the
areas around the Falls.
The Victoria Falls Anti Poaching Unit
(VFAPU), based in the town of Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, is a
non-profit organization working to fight poaching in the Zambezi
National Park and adjacent Victoria Falls National Park.
The unit reported capturing a total of 400 poachers in 2014,
including the successful investigation and capture of a number of
poachers who were involved in a terrible elephant-poisoning incident in
Zambezi National Park.
“It was shocking to experience our first case of cyanide poisoning,”
said VFAPU operation co-ordinator Charles Brightman, “where poachers
placed poison in a mineral lick and sadly, five elephants lost their
lives.”
“It’s a new method of poaching, the use of poisons rather than
shooting, with the main object being to get tusks for black market
sale.”
The investigation into the incident was a joint effort by the Environmental Management Authority, Zimbabwe Republic Police, National Parks and Wildlife Management, VFAPU and the Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust, he said. The cyanide poachers were arrested and their court cases are pending.
Also arrested in 2014 were 358 wood poachers, 11 fish poachers, one
thief, eight illegal miners, two bush meat dealers and five persons
entering the park’s estate illegally.
A total of 158 snares was recovered from the field, a dramatic drop
from the more than 4,000 found in 1999, when VFAPU was formed.
The Unit started out hiring only three scouts, and with assistance from the local hospitality group, Africa Albida Tourism, which operate lodges in Victoria Falls and Chobe,
now has 17 scouts, operating seven days a week, patrolling an area
approximately fifty square kilometers (19 square miles, smaller than
Manhattan) surrounding Victoria Falls.
The operations are now expanding further afield, said Brightman, as
the VFAPU help with manpower, logistics and equipment to assist in joint
operations.
Already, in the first month of 2015, the VFAPU assisted local police and National Parks in arresting two suspected ivory dealers,
who have been charged with possession of ivory with the intent to
smuggle it out of the country, and are now awaiting trial in Victoria
Falls.
“We are thankful for all the support in 2014,” said Brightman. “We
can’t let poaching continue unabated, and we must all take a stand
together.”
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