14 elephants killed, 28 tusks recovered during weekend raid in Binga

GAME rangers in Binga have shot and killed a suspected Zambian poacher, just days after another Zambian national was seriously wounded in a shoot-out, an official said. Rangers recovered 14 pairs of ivory tusks, which translates to 28 pieces or 14 elephants dead, after the shooting on Saturday near Lubimbi 4, an area of Binga in Matabeleland North close to the Zambezi River, Parks and Wildlife Authority spokeswoman Carol Washaya-Moyo said. Washaya-Moyo said police were working with their Zambian counterparts to identify the dead poacher who was cornered by 16 parks rangers. Rangers had increased patrols in the area since last week’s shoot-out with poachers which resulted in George Chingandu of Kazungula in Zambia being shot and seriously wounded. In that raid, rangers recovered 22 tusks. Chingandu remains in the intensive care at Mpilo Hospital in Bulawayo under police guard. Washaya-Moyo said on Monday: “Over the last week, a total of 36 ivory tusks have been recovered; 67 rounds of ammunition; an AK rifle; a 375 rifle and one round; a cell phone with two Zambian lines and cooking pots. “The authority wants to continue to warn would-be poachers that illegal entry into parks estates for the purposes of hunting illegally is suicidal.” Zambian poachers cross the Zambezi in small boats and enter Zimbabwe where they kill elephants, usually during the night, and they are gone by daybreak – leaving behind carcasses with gaping wounds. Elephant ivory is typically smuggled to Asia where it is carved into ornaments. Source: Online Media