Rampant rhino poaching in Zimbabwe’s Matobo National Park

As first appeared in Community Podium News in Zimbabwe, here. Written by Calvin Manika.

January 18 2022

The southern African nation is considering dehorning rhinos to make them less attractive to poachers

Rhino horn is believed to have medicinal properties by healers in some asian countries.

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mage by Simon Hurry.

Zimbabwe is home to the world’s fourth-largest black rhino population after South Africa, Namibia and Kenya. However, poaching in and around Matobo National Park has put the endangered black rhino at risk of extinction. 

On 7 February 2022, one outstanding story made headlines; poachers had killed a black rhino in Matobo District, Matabeleland South.

Despite massive support from various conservation organisations, this still happened and people were outraged and left with more questions than answers. 

“This time it was not in the park but in our area of residence. Living along the park boundaries makes us the first line of defence for these animals. The tragedy soiled our image as a community,” said Matthias Ncube, a villager.

The slain black rhino was found with its horns missing in the Makhothama Resettlement area which borders Matobo National Park. Police issued a statement saying unknown poachers had killed the rhino and investigations were in progress. 

“The carcass was scanned with a metal detector leading to the recovery of two wildlife sensors and a bullet in the animal’s forehead,” said Zimbabwe Republic Police National Spokesman Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi.

In 2010, Zimbabwe released six suspected rhino poachers from custody despite overwhelming evidence, a move that was condemned by the international community  as a lack of political will to save the endangered species. Their case somehow died a natural death as the trial never took off.

The Director of TRAFFIC Steven Broad said Zimbabwe’s enforcement of laws on Rhino poaching was weak. TRAFFIC is an organisation established in 1976 by  the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the International Union of Conservation Nature (IUCN) as a wildlife trade monitoring network to undertake data collection, analysis, and provision of recommendations to inform decision making on wildlife trade.

“Rhino poachers are currently operating in an environment where they are allowed to break the law without  consequences,” said Broad.

Villagers in communities surrounding Matobo National Park told Community Podium that nothing has changed in terms of strengthening law enforcement to protect rhinos.

“Support partners have been immense with material and other critical support. These external efforts have done a lot to save our rhinos but when it comes to our systems and institutions there is no urgency to prosecute wildlife criminals. One hardly hears about arrests   and if the poachers are arrested, the cases are seldom finalised and convictions are rare,” said Ncube.

The first quarter of 2022 saw four rhinos gunned down while the other two were killed in August to bring to a total of six rhinos killed but the criminals evaded arrest. 

In Zimbabwe, rhino poaching is thought to have started  in November 1985 as Zimbabwe emerged as  the then next country in the poachers’ sights. The poachers targeted Zimbabwe after  nearly cleaning out Kenya, then Tanzania and then Zambia, all to the north.

Rhinos are poached for their horns which fetch thousands of United States dollars on black markets around the world especially in Asia. The rhino horn is composed primarily of keratin, the same substance that makes up fingernails and hair. 

Black and white rhinos are critically endangered and threatened in the IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species. 

SAVE African Rhino Foundation (SARF), who had previously supported all national parks, had in 2012 decided to limit their efforts to  areas that had proved to be successful in the past years of their operation. One of the areas which retained support was Matobo National Park.

After many incidents of fire and wild/domestic animals’ interaction, SARF helped fund the erection of fences in park boundaries designed to keep poachers out and wildlife within the national park.

Despite the fence donation and other kinds of support the park is receiving from stakeholders, some parts of the park still remain porous and unsecured thus allowing the wild animals including rhinos to stray into human settlements.

Concerned conservationists say without secure premises, the park authorities are risking the rhino population. 

“I know that in Matobo, the population of rhinos is quite high compared to other parks. But, there is a need to make sure that they are away from the people. Porous fences and proximity to human habitation gives both villagers and park rangers an opportunity to help poachers when enticed with big cash,” said Masimba Chibanda, an ecologist.

Another conservationist said it was surprising that poaching was on the increase given that all  rhinos have trackers.

“There must be a quick reaction by the foot soldiers. When a rhino is not moving, it must be taken as an urgent signal to promptly visit the area. Otherwise all the efforts at conservation by support partners would be in vain,” said Ethel Chimbiri, a specialist in Natural Resources Governance. 

Matobo National Park Deputy Area Manager Kainos Mugande could not be drawn into commenting as he asked this reporter to seek permission and clearance from the national offices in Harare.

Community Podium followed up with the ZimParks Spokesperson in Harare but he too could not avail himself to attend to questions left for him. Late last year without divulging much, Farawo hinted that Zimbabwe was considering de-horning all rhinos to make them less attractive to poachers.

Speaking on condition of anonymity one ranger said they were trying their best under difficult conditions. He said the status quo was fertile ground for bribes which pose serious threats to wildlife.

“Nowadays, we cannot afford basics for our families from the meagre salary. We spend a lot of time in the bush away from our families under harsh conditions.  Apparently, our welfare is not government priority,” he said.

Matobo is acclaimed as the best place to see a rhino in Zimbabwe, but with poaching increasing, stakeholders are concerned.  

“Some of our people must be suspected because these cases usually occur near human settlement.  Investigations must also be thorough and dig deep into authorities like rangers themselves,” said Melusi Tshuma, a villager.

Poachers come from other countries or are locals working with international syndicates targeting straying rhinos around the park and near human settlements. 

Local leadership said the national park authorities are to blame for the decimation of rhinos because as a community, they are supportive to the anti-poaching and pro-conservation cause.

“Many times we have intercepted poachers and suspected people. We have a cordial relationship with the local police and we support anti-poaching efforts. But, sometimes when some areas are porous and the ground is not well covered, it is something beyond our support. ZimParks must take stern measures starting from the inside,” said a local village head.

An investigation by this publication shows that poachers who usually kill rhinos are paid less compared to those at the top of the poaching food chain. A game ranger speaking on condition of anonymity said more assistance is required for the community scheme, fence maintenance and patrols.

“Patrols are important in the prevention of poaching. Patrols mean you have people on the ground. This is critical even if the rhinos are being tracked. We must be proactive, so we need well resourced manpower,” said the ranger.  

Zimbabwe has approximately 1,000 rhinos. According to ZimParks records there are 616 black rhinos and 417 white rhinos.

This article is reproduced here as part of the African Conservation Journalism Programme, funded in Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe by USAID’s VukaNow: Activity. Implemented by the international conservation organisation Space for Giants, it aims to expand the reach of conservation and environmental journalism in Africa, and bring more African voices into the international conservation debate. Written articles from the Mozambican and Angolan cohorts are translated from Portuguese. Broadcast stories remain in the original language.