By Flata Kavinga
Poaching and the expansion of mining activities are threatening the remaining black rhino habitat in the Midlands, the Midlands Black Rhino Conservancy has said.
Conservancy finance officer Diane Killilea said mining activities, agricultural expansion and human settlements were increasingly putting pressure on land set aside for wildlife conservation.
Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the Midlands Black Rhino Conservancy Half Marathon in Kwekwe, Killilea said the conservancy was home to the only nine black rhinos remaining in the Midlands.
“The poaching and the encroachment of the habitat by the mining activities within the Conservancy” were among the major threats facing the animals, she said.
Killilea also cited agricultural expansion and settlements as growing pressures on wildlife habitat.
“Increasingly people are trying to take over every little bit of land they can for farming,” she said.
She called for clearly defined wildlife protection zones where mining and agriculture would not be permitted.
“I think areas should be set aside just for wildlife,” Killilea said.
“No mining, no agriculture and more intensive agriculture could take place outside of these wildlife protection zones but we need to be very clear as to what areas our game are allowed to roam freely without being disturbed and without having their habitat taken by mining in particular and agriculture as well.”
Killilea said the Midlands historically formed part of the black rhino’s range before the species was severely depleted by hunting, largely because of the value attached to its horn and other parts of the animal.
She said black rhinos were reintroduced to the Midlands after the population in Zimbabwe came close to extinction in the early 1990s, with animals brought in from the Zambezi Valley.
“There are nine black rhino in the Midlands. They’re the only black rhino in the Midlands,” she said.
Killilea said Zimbabwe had just over 400 black rhinos and remained among the countries with significant populations of the species in Africa.
She said conservation was expensive and the half marathon was organised partly to raise awareness and funds for protecting the animals.
“Black rhino take a lot of money to conserve and this is why we organised a marathon to promote awareness of the black rhino and of course, to bring in funds for its protection,” Killilea said.
The conservancy receives support from donors, including overseas contributors, while communities living within the conservancy also contribute towards conservation efforts, she said.
A golf tournament held in April was among other fundraising initiatives undertaken this year.
Killilea said the conservancy would continue seeking financial support to sustain its rhino protection programmes.
The black rhino is a protected species in Zimbabwe and hunting it is prohibited.
