For Farmers and Wildlife in Zimbabwe’s Conservation Areas, a Fraught Coexistence
Land reform program resettled hundreds on protected lands, where lions, elephants and other animals pose a constant threat to livestock and crops.
MUTARE, ZIMBABWE — On a farm in Chiredzi district, around 200 kilometers (124 miles) south of Mutare, Innocent Jazi has lost count of how much of his livestock has been killed by lions in the past decade or so. “At some point, I lost almost 16 cattle and 26 goats in one day,” he says. “They are attacked any time, so we now have to watch our animals day and night, all year round.”
His neighbor, Amos Hlangwa, has gotten used to wildlife eating his crops. “If you plant 10 hectares, you will harvest a quarter or less, not because of poor rainfall or crop management, but because of wildlife conflicts,” says Hlangwa. “A visit even by one elephant per night will destroy hectares of crops.”
Jazi and Hlangwa were allocated a few dozen hectares each here in the early 2000s under Zimbabwe’s Fast-Track Land Reform Program. But their properties are inside the Savé Valley Conservancy (SVC), a 750,000-hectare private game reserve in Zimbabwe’s southeastern lowveld that shelters diverse wildlife, including Africa’s “Big Five” — leopard, lion, rhinoceros, elephant, and buffalo.
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