How many elephants are there in Botswana?
Sunday, May 27, 2018
Markus credited his estimates to Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) surveys.
“The figure ranges from the area of 270, 000 to 300, 000. There are too many elephants in this country,” reported the Leader of Alliance for Progressives and MP for Gaborone South Ndaba Gaolathe. Surprisingly, one of the elephant ecology experts who contributed to Mmegi’s ongoing hunting ban debate Dr. Mike Chase of Elephants Without Borders (EWB) put the figure at 130, 000 - far less than half of the numbers that was quoted in Botswana Parliament.
The heartbreaking reports carried elsewhere on this publication of a woman killed in Metsimotlhabe and four family members perishing near Metsimaswaana Bridge are, devastatingly, not isolated incidents. They represent the sharp, painful tip of a weekend that has seen far too many collisions, injuries, and losses on the roads. This alarming spike in fatalities is a screaming siren we cannot ignore. It compels a direct and urgent plea to every...