Victoria Falls Private Game Reserve

Victoria Falls, ZW

About

Hwange National Park (formerly Wankie Game Reserve) is the largest natural reserve in Zimbabwe. The park lies in the west, on the main road between Bulawayo and the Victoria Falls and near to Dete. == History of the park == It was founded in 1928, with the first warden being by the 22-year-old Ted Davison. He befriended the Manchester-born James Jones who was the stationmaster for the then Rhodesian Railways at Dete which is very near Hwange Main Camp. Jones managed incoming supplies for the park.This park is considered for inclusion in the 5 Nation Kavango - Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area. === Poaching incidents === In 2011, nine elephants, five lions and two buffaloes were killed by poachers.In October 2013 it was discovered that poachers killed a large number of African elephants with cyanide after poisoning their waterhole. Conservationists have claimed the incident to be the largest illegal killing of animals in Southern Africa in 25 years. Two aerial surveys were carried to determine the extent of the deaths, and 19 carcasses were identified in the first survey and a further 84 carcasses in the second survey. Three of the poachers were caught, arrested, tried, convicted and sentenced. All royal game and elephant poaching offences now have a mandatory 9-year sentence and the supply chain is also targeted. SOURCESWikipedia