Two African countries will kill hundreds of elephants and hippos due to drought

Officials in Zimbabwe believe that there are currently "more elephants than needed" in the country, so the population will be "controlled".

African countries are killing large wild animals to neutralize the effects of extreme drought. This was reported by Bild on Saturday, September 14.

Yes, the Zimbabwean authorities are going to kill 200 elephants. The Ministry of Environment has said that there are now "more elephants than needed" in the country.

The ZimParks wildlife park administration has been instructed to select the animals to be killed. According to the authorities, such a decision will help control the rapidly growing elephant population, and will also make it easier to cope with the consequences of extreme drought.

The head of the ZimParks reserve, Fulton Mangwanya, told AFP that the authorities intend to get rid of 200 elephants in total. In total, about 100 elephants live in Zimbabwe and the country is considered the second largest population of these animals after Botswana. The last time elephants were shot in Zimbabwe was in 1988.

In turn, Namibia announced the destruction of 700 wild animals, including elephants and hippos, due to severe drought in recent decades. About 160 animals have already been killed, the country's environment ministry said.

This measure is designed to reduce the consumption of water reserves and provide meat to thousands of people who are starving due to drought. The government order was sharply criticized by animal rights activists.

Zimbabwe and Namibia are among a group of southern African countries that have declared a drought emergency.