The Sunday Mail
Langton Nyakwenda
WITH eleven national parks, most of which are home to the most sought-after “Big Five” animals, Zimbabwe’s wildlife-based tourism is primed for growth if more energy is channelled towards environmental research.
Wildlife experts concur that wildlife research is the cornerstone of conservation and believe that the future of Zimbabwe’s game will rely mainly on this growing phenomenon.
One of the country’s leading wildlife research gurus, Ms Angela Fergusson of the Victoria Falls-based African Lion and Environmental Research Trust (ALERT), emphasised the importance of wildlife research in Zimbabwe’s bid to boost its tourism industry.
“If you don’t have research you cannot conserve the animals correctly. If you can’t conserve correctly then there will be no animals to talk about and no tourists because they want to come and see these animals. Basically, you can’t separate wildlife management and research,” Ms Fergusson, a conservation research manager, recently told The Sunday Mail Society.
ALERT has commissioned a brand new research project that they believe will unearth vital data at one of Zimbabwe’s largest national parks, Chizarira, which is situated 200km east of Victoria Falls.
According to the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks), Chizarira measures approximately 2000 square km and is the country’s third largest National Park.
Chizarira National Park is home to four of the “Big Five” animals – the African elephant, lion, buffalo and leopard. Also found in the National Park is the kudu, waterbuck, eland, hyena, impala and antelopes.
“Chizarira is our newest project, we have launched research there. Research is very important because we need to discover issues affecting wildlife. You cannot protect wildlife if you do not have information as a baseline,” Ms Fergusson said.
“We need to try and find out how big the lion population in Chizarira is, what the vegetation is like, what kind of prey there is in this huge park.”
Chizarira National Park provides a stunning scenery with its massive hills and escarpments.
“The national park is still wild, very wild and isolated with a variety of game. We need a whole lot of people coming here,” said Ms Anele Matshisela, a lion research expert.
Chizarira National Park derives its name from the Batonga word “chijalila”, which means “The Great Barrier”, an orientation of phenomenal mountains and hills that form a wonderful portion of the Zambezi Escarpment. It is one of the country’s internationally acclaimed national parks, which include Victoria Falls, Zambezi, Chimanimani, Gonarezhou, Hwange, Kazuma, Mana Pools, Matobo, Matusadona and Nyanga.
Mr Norman Monks, the chief executive officer for ALERT, summed up the growing importance of wildlife research.
“You can’t manage a national park if you don’t know what’s in there. We have to find out what’s happening to these animals, and rivers need to be monitored,” he said.
