Mana Pools World Heritage Site, Zimbabwe

Ecotourism supports wildlife protection in many endangered global parks.

Introduction

Dusk in Mana Pools is like a watercolor shroud. As the sun sets into purple, blue and gold, the warble of a fish eagle gives way to the piping call of a fiery-necked nightjar, the whoop of a hyena, and the eerily childlike cry of a bush baby. The luckiest visitors might even hear the gentle clack-clack of a pangolin ambling past their tent, scales clicking together as they clutch their sickle-clawed forepaws to their chest like a tiny T-rex. Indeed, with their tough armor, these curious mammals might be mistaken for a reptile.

Visitors here are treated to sights that seem impossible anywhere else.

The winter-thorn trees gather the blue light of dawn, imbuing the banks of the Zambezi River with a periwinkle hue like a storybook forest. In this real-life fairy tale, elephants balance on their hind feet, stretching their prehensile trunks to pluck the last dry-season leaves from these massive trees. Painted dogs, one of the most endangered mammals in Africa, bolt across the plains to hunt arboreal baboons, which they do nowhere else. With their mottled tricolored coats, unique as fingerprints, they weave in and out of the grass, kicking up scattered earth that rises and catches the blue light like fairy dust.

Natural Heritage

Here, the floodplain of the Lower Zambezi River turns into a broad expanse of water after each rainy season. As the flood recedes, myriad wildlife arrives in search of water, making it one of Africa's most renowned game-viewing regions. This is the last national park in Africa where visitors can still walk unescorted among big game. Approximately 7,000 tourists visit Mana Pools World Heritage Park and the Lower Zambezi Valley each year, generating over $2 million in revenues.

Aerial view of Mana Pools and the Zambezi River.

Mana Pools has the country’s biggest concentration of hippos and crocodiles, and large dry-season populations of zebra, elephant and buffalo. The area is also home to other threatened species including lion, cheetah, wild dog, and near-threatened species like leopard and brown hyena.

Over 400 bird species occur here, as well as all of the large animal species found in Zimbabwe except giraffe, wildebeest and the endangered black rhino.

Threats to Mana Pools

In 1984, 500 endangered black rhinoceros lived here. Mana Pools was one of the most important refuges for rhinos on the continent. In 1994, just ten rhino remained, and these last individuals were moved elsewhere for their protection. Rhinos have been extinct across Zimbabwe’s national parks since 2010, and poaching remains a problem for rhino re-introduction as well as for other keystone species such as elephant.

Mana Pools is known for its elephants that regularly stand on their hind legs to reach the most tender leaves.

Twelve thousand elephants have been poached in this area over the past ten years. As of 2014, there had been a 40% decrease in elephant numbers in the middle Zambezi Valley complex, from 18,000 to 11,500. As these surrounding areas face an onslaught of poachers with high-powered weapons, Mana Pools National Park has become a final stronghold for wildlife. Mana Pools has suffered fewer losses compared to surrounding reserves due to its position at the center of this wilderness area, but its defenses need to be strengthened in order to ensure its continued survival as wildlife numbers dwindle elsewhere.

On safari in Mana Pools, where walking with the wildlife is also possible.

Saving Mana Pools

Despite hard work and dedication by rangers, Zimbabwe park and wildlife authorities are unable to provide sufficient policing and protection of wildlife areas. Poorly paid, ill-equipped rangers are tasked with patrolling this vast wilderness, but Mana Pools suffers from a lack of government funding that not only makes law enforcement difficult, but also fuels corruption. Salaries for park rangers are under $7 per day, and in recent years, rangers have gone 3-6 months without a paycheck, tempting them into illicit activities.

Mana Pools rangers discuss strategy with the Global Conservation Team.

Dams present a further threat to Mana Pools National Park; the ecology of the Zambezi is dominated by the regulating effect of the Kariba Dam, and there is the continued threat of dam construction in the Mapata Gorge. If that project moves forward, it would effectively destroy this ecosystem as we know it. To combat these threats, Global Conservation began deploying Global Park Defense systems in Mana Pools in 2017, including a Cellular Trailcam Network, Long-range Thermal Cameras, a Vulcan Domain Awareness System, ranger communications via satellite networks, and PROTECT Ranger training. We will also support anti-poaching patrols overseen by our partners, Bushlife and the Zambezi Society, by providing funding for vehicles, fuel and maintenance.

Mana Pools anti-poaching teams deserve to receive the funding and technical support of Global Conservation to preserve this incredible park.

To date, Global Conservation support has helped enable Bushlife to deploy rangers on anti-poaching activities in the Mana Pools, Sapi, Nykasanga, Rifa and Marongora areas, funding ranger patrol rations, fuel and vehicle maintenance.

On our most recent mission, Global Conservation provided a Thuraya Satellite Network to enable six ranger teams to be in constant communication using Galaxy S8 smartphones anywhere in the park. These smartphones can also support the SMART Patrolling system for data collection on anti-poaching patrols and biodiversity monitoring.

The Akashinga Rangers are an all-female squad of eco-warriors supported by Global Conservation.

In coming years, we will be supporting initiatives to expand protected areas in the Lower Zambezi Valley two- or three-fold. We are dedicated to preserving this storybook African ecosystem, so that future generations can continue to listen to the clack of a pangolin, the whoop of a hyena, and the piping call of a fiery-necked nightjar.

Species Facing Extinction

In Mana Pools National Park, we are working with our partners to protect the African savannah elephant, especially super tuskers.

Global Conservation is funding a multi-year Species Population Baseline study for African savannah elephants to ascertain progress in Park and Wildlife Protection from our investments in Global Park Defense in Mana Pools National Park.

African Savannah Elephant (Super Tuskers)

African savanna elephants are the largest terrestrial mammal on Earth. Though they once roamed throughout sub-Saharan Africa, their range has become increasingly small due to poaching and habitat loss. After rampant demand for their tusks, just 20 super tuskers remain.

Partners in Conservation

Bushlife Conservancy

Bushlife Conservancy is a section 501(c)(3) registered charity in the United States. They are dedicated to the protection and conservation of wildlife and habitats in Africa, primarily in the Zambezi River Valley of Zimbabwe and Zambia. Bushlife Conservancy accomplishes this mission primarily by funding the work of Bushlife Support Unit Trust, a Zimbabwe nonprofit.

Bushlife Support Unit Trust coordinates the activities of a group of trackers and rangers who tirelessly patrol the Zambezi River Valley and surrounding areas in the search of poachers, snares, hazards to wildlife on both land and river. BSUT’s hard work has paid off over the years, saving the lives of hundreds of wild animals.

The Zambezi Society

The Zambezi Society is a private, voluntary, conservation group driven by a passionate team working closely with local and international organisations, government authorities and with local communities.

The society is committed to initiating rapid, well-informed, and effective action to:

Maintain the Zambezi Valley’s biodiversity
Conserve Zambezi wildernesses and promote the recognition of their values
Ensure that conservation is incorporated into planning for the whole Zambezi Valley landscape
Encourage people to find ways of using the natural resources of the Zambezi Valley without destroying them

A baboon surveys the sunset at Mana Pools National Park.

BBC Earth "Dynasties" Series

BBC Earth's series "Dynasties" filmed an episode on painted wolves, or African wild dogs, in Mana Pools National Park. Painted wolves are one of Africa's most endangered species. Only about 3,000-5,000 are left in the wild, and their numbers decrease each year due to threats like development/land use change, poaching, and human-wildlife conflict. To read more, click here. To see a video of painted wolf collaring from the series, click here.