干ばつ深刻なジンバブエ、ゾウやライオン数千頭を別の保護区に移送へ

【ハラレＡＦＰ＝時事】ジンバブエ国立公園・野生動物保護庁は先週、致命的な干ばつから野生動物を救うため、ゾウやライオン、インパラなど数千頭を移送する大規模な計画を発表した。（写真は資料写真）
　ジンバブエは同国史上最悪規模の干ばつに見舞われており、ここ２か月で少なくとも１２０頭のゾウが死んでいる。
　ジンバブエ国立公園・野生動物保護庁のティナシェ・ファラウォ報道官はＡＦＰに、「６００頭のゾウ、１０～２０頭のライオン、リカオンの群れ、５０頭のバッファロー、４０頭のキリン、２０００頭のインパラを移送する」と説明した。
　動物たちは同国南東部の広大な動物保護区から、別の三つの保護区に移送される予定。「私たちの歴史上、最大規模の移送になる」とファラウォ氏は語った。
　ファラウォ氏によると、「草や葉が生い茂る雨期に」移送を開始するという。雨期は例年、１１月中旬ごろから始まる。
　今年の干ばつにより、草原は枯れ、水場は干上がり、野生動物の生息はますます困難なものとなっている。
　国連は、干ばつにより、ジンバブエの農村部に住む５００万人以上が来年の収穫を前に食料不足の危機にさらされていると警告している。この数は、同国の人口の３分の１近くに当たる。
　ジンバブエの食料不足は、干ばつの影響と慢性的な経済危機によって深刻化している。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2019/11/20-08:27）

Zimbabwe?s wildlife agency said Monday it would move hundreds of elephants and other animals in a dramatic bid to save them from a lethal drought.
At least 120 elephants have already died over the past two months as the country grapples with one of the worst droughts in its history.
We are moving 600 elephants, two prides of lion comprising between five and 10 members, a pack of wild dogs, 50 buffalo, 40 giraffes and 2,000 impalas, parks and wildlife authority spokesman Tinashe Farawo told AFP.
The animals will be moved from Save Conservancy, a major park in southeastern Zimbabwe, to three other game reserves.
This will be the biggest translocation in our history, said Farawo.
Permits for the operation have already been secured, Farawo said.
The transfer will start during the rain season, when pastures and foliage start flourishing, he added. The rain season usually kicks off from around the middle of November.
We want to avoid a situation where we trans-locate animals, only for them to starve to death because there is no food in their new habitat, he explained.
The relocation was announced after the death of dozens of elephants in Hwange, Zimbabwe's biggest game reserve, located in the northwest of the country.
Hungry elephants have been breaking out of wildlife areas and raiding human settlements in search for food, posing a threat to communities.
Farawo said 200 people have died in human-and-animal conflict over the past five years.
Several southern African countries are in the grip of one of the worst droughts in decades, caused by months of above-average temperatures and erratic rainfall.
This year's drought has wilted grasslands and dried up water holes, making it increasingly difficult for animals to survive.
Botswana last month announced that more than 100 elephants had died in two months in its famed Chobe National Park.
The drought has left more than five million rural Zimbabweans -- nearly a third of the population -- at risk of food shortages before the next harvest in 2020, the UN has warned.
Food shortages for people have been amplified by the combined effects of drought and the country's enduring economic crisis.