Rhino. Picture courtesy of http://www.nodeoito.com/
On my recent visit to the South Luangwa National Park, I was privileged to have seen a number of animals and birds. There was one particular animal I really looked forward to seeing. I asked our guide with excitement as to whether we were going to also see rhinos during our drive and whilst I had anticipated a very positive response to my query, our guide responded very bluntly with a No. Confused by this response, I further probed to say is it because they only come out at night and hoped this this query would receive much more positive feedback as compared to the former but alas, our guide’s response was even graver than the first. ‘No’ he said and continued with ‘its because they were wiped out by poachers and now we no longer have them in our park.’ My heart sunk..I couldn’t believe what I had just heard. I pondered for a moment as my mind echoed his words and thought to myself, ‘you mean to tell me rhinos are extinct?!’
I was so perturbed by this. I have a strong conviction that as human beings we are to be great stewards of the wonderful creatures that we have been blessed to experience this world with. I couldn’t believe that 40 years ago, Zambia – particularly the South Luangwa National Park has 12,000+ rhino population and when we fast forward to the 2015, there’s 0 absolutely nothing. How does this ‘just’ happen! And the answer in one word is POACHING.The adverse effects of poaching have caused this animal to become extinct in the South Luangwa National Park. It was been wiped out completely as though it never existed.
What we fail to realise as a nation is that Zambia is a landlocked country and one of the ways in which we can generate revenue is through Tourism. Now when the effects of poaching take its course and we do not have any wildlife in our parks, this will negatively affect the tourism industry. We also do not realise what poaching can do to the environment and other animals in the Eco-system. Today,we may not understand the effects of not having rhinos has done to the Eco-system or other wildlife of the park but tomorrow it could be a different story.
As much as poaching may seem to the lucrative and generates lots of income because items such as elephant tusks and rhino horns fetch an arm and a leg on the black market ,it does not justify killing animals to a point where they become extinct. I commend the efforts that ZAWA (Zambia National Wildlife Authority) has and continues to make but I also feel that our communities needs to be sensitized more on the dangers of poaching. Our communities need to be made aware of how they can play their part in ending this vice. If we do not see the value of saving these animals, then poaching will continue and more an more animals will become extinct and Zambia will have nothing to show for in terms of the wonderful creation that this country has been endowed with.
We also need to celebrate the milestones achieved in the aspect of preserving our wildlife. I was a glimmer of hope in this article where the North Luangwa Conservation Program (NLCP) has managed to reintroduce a population of 34 black rhino into the park. This is a milestone that needs to be recognised and celebrated. North Luangwa: Hope for Zambia’s Rhinos. Our communities need to be made aware of these efforts and also be encouraged to play their part. I choose to play my part by creating awareness on the dangers of poaching and also on the importance of preserving our wildlife. Its a big task but together we can play our part to make an impact. I choose to make a difference,will you join me?
The following links provide more detail and context on our wildlife in Zambia.
iaraf's musings 