Poachers kill 41 elephants with poison
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E-mail Xinhua, September 6, 2013
Poachers in a major Zimbabwean national park killed 41 elephants by poisoning the pools the animals drank from with deadly chemical cyanide, local media reported on Thursday.
Police have arrested six suspects and feared that their "very cruel" method of poaching in 14,651-sq-km Hwange National Park could threaten the life of hundreds of animals as the poison would cycle and contaminate the whole ecological system.
Two "rotting" carcasses of dehorned elephants were found, while 17 tusks valued 120,000 U.S. dollars were recovered from the suspects, according to the Chronicle.
Authorities are still searching for more carcasses while working out plans to contain the disastrous impact on environment.
Zimbabwe is home to more than 100,000 elephants and about 700 rhinos, whose survival is often threatened by rampant poaching. Hwange, located in northwest part of the country near Botswana, Namibia, and Zambia, is one of the major elephant concentrations in the world. Officials estimated that 69 elephants were killed by poachers in the area in only four months between May and August this year.
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