Southern Tanzania's wildlife sanctuaries see less elephant poaching

Elephant poaching in two wildlife sanctuaries in Tanzania's southern highlands has gone down for the past one year due to what game experts described as effective surveillance systems.

The two wildlife sanctuaries are Kilombero Nature Reserve (KNR) and Udzungwa Mountains National Park (UMNP), which all fall in the same ecological system and they are part of the Eastern Arc Mountains.

Jackson Ngowi, Game officer in Kilolo District, Iringa region, said that in January one elephant was being shot outside the reserve and died after getting into the protected area.

"This is the only elephant killing incident happened this year in the reserve," the official said on Thursday.

He confirmed that for the past three years, Kilombero Nature Reserve remained free from poaching.

He cited effective surveillance system as one of the reasons behind the successful wildlife conservation efforts in the area.

"As district authorities we are working closely with other agencies particularly those who are involving in conservation activities. So, we have been carrying-out regular patrols in the area. And I can confirm that poaching incidents have come down," the official said.

The mechanisms include confiscating guns and other weapons from local communities. It "has helped us a lot, because in the past, those weapons were being used in hunting," he said.

Happiness Kiemi, head of Udzungwa Mountains National Park, said the park remained a safe heaven for elephants and other large mammals in southern highlands.

"We have been working closely with local communities who now understood the importance of wildlife conservation and most of the time they have been calling us when they see elephants get out of the park," she said, without disclosing the number of elephants available in the park.

She said local communities are well informed on how to conserve the park because of the countless benefits they get from tourism.

The Udzungwa Mountain National Park supports diverse wildlife, including elephant, buffalo, lion, leopard, African wild dog and eland.

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