By Wanangwa Tembo

Kasungu, January 14, Mana:  In 2024 alone, Kasungu National Park, the second largest protected area in Malawi, lost six elephants in circumstances that authorities say are being investigated.

Of the six elephants, only one had its tusks removed while the rest had everything intact, raising more questions about the cause of the deaths.

Park Manager Ndaona Kumanga says there is high likelihood that the elephants were killed by retaliatory fire.

“We have strong evidence that the species were killed by people who are not in ivory trade because the tusks were intact.

“This makes us believe that some people who were angry may be because the elephants had destroyed their crops or other property killed them in retaliation,” Kumanga says.

Four of the elephants were killed on the peripherals of Kasungu National Park on the Zambian side while the other two died away from the border.

Kumanga says while the elephants had gun wounds, the presence of tusks is evidence enough that the killers were not the common poachers who kill the beasts for ivory or meat.

“So for us, these are retaliatory killings because of the human-elephant conflicts in areas surrounding the park.

“If we contain the conflict, we will minimize the deaths of animals, especially elephants,” Kumanga observes.

Since around 2016 when the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) partnered International Fund for Animal Welfare (Ifaw), incidents of poaching in Kasungu National Park have significantly reduced due to tightened security.

Earlier, poachers had invaded the 2,300 square kilometre-park at the beginning of multiparty democracy in 1994 when the elephant population was around 2,000 individuals.

About 20 years later, the poachers had decimated the animals’ numbers to only about 200 individuals, rendering the area unattractive to tourists.

However, with the improvement in security, government translocated 263 more elephants from Liwonde to Kasungu National Park to increase animal sightings and boost tourism.

However, with the vandalized perimeter fence on the eastern park boundary, which is surrounded by agrarian communities that look at the park as a source of livelihood, there have been running battles between the communities and elephants where crops, houses and lives have been lost.

There have been at least 414 incidents of elephants straying out of the park in 2024, a 40 percent drop from the 697 cases recorded in 2023.

Nevertheless, the impact on local communities has been huge as the crop damage has resulted to food insecurity amongst the households surrounding the park.

On the other hand, the conflict seems to have created a new problem manifested in the latest retaliatory killing of the elephants.

Ifaw Field Operations Manager Gervas Thamala describes the killing of the six elephants as a big loss.

“The incident shocked us and is a big loss. I understand the matter is being investigated but it could be community retaliation.

“However, it does not mean that the security in the park has gone down as patrols are being done on daily basis,” Thamala says.

Construction of the 130 kilometre perimeter fence is nearing completion with at least 114 km already done.

There have been over 215 arrests recorded in 2024 for illegal park entry, with 141 of the offenders being from Traditional Authority Chulu in Kasungu District.   

Senior Chief Chulu says the sure way to protect both animals and people’s property is ensuring that the fence project is completed.

The coming of Protect Kasungu National Park (PROKAs) project is further expected to tighten the park’s security, hedging out poachers who are largely from Chulu communities in Malawi and a few others from Zambia.

PROKAs is a law enforcement project designed to address DNPW challenges of inadequate government funding and shortage of rangers and will focus on providing specialized training and law enforcement equipment.

With financial support from the US Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), Ifaw will implement the PROKAs in conjunction with Wildlife Investigators Training Alliance, Game Rangers Association of Africa, Resolve Wildlife and Lilongwe Wildlife Trust.

The project aims to reduce wildlife poaching and trafficking in Kasungu National Park through enhancing the professional capacities of DNPW rangers, investigators, prosecutors and magistrates.

Specifically, the PROKAs wants to increase the skills and knowledge of DNPW rangers to better combat poaching and wildlife trafficking in and around Kasungu National Park.

This will be done through development of a law enforcement strategy for the park, expanding Earth Ranger Technology and rapid response units and convening regular interactive meetings for DNPW, police and magistrates.

On the other hand, government plans to upgrade infrastructure in the park by constructing more lodges to attract more tourists.

Despite its huge size, Kasungu National Park has one lodge located at Lifupa, some 50 km west of the boma. This means that the entire vastness of the park’s north, where there is a concentration of elephants, is without any lodging facilities.

“Government is very committed to making Kasungu National Park a haven for tourism. We have identified two places where we want to construct lodges and processes are under way.

“There is Kangwa in the north where there is also a concentration of elephants and an air strip. The other one is the highest point of the park where we want to put Wang’ombe Lumen Safari Lodge,” Kumanga says.

Wang’ombe is also historical in that it is the place where Scottish missionary David Livingstone passed by on his way to Zambia.

Kumanga reveals that there are also plans to construct a breeding sanctuary within the park where a number of animal species will be put for those that do not want to travel in the park’s expansiveness.

“We want Kasungu National Park to reclaim the glory it had. Additionally, we are making additions to make the place more attractive,” Kumanga says.

He says the swimming pool being constructed at Lifupa Lodge will be ready for use this year while the information centre at the gate house is also set to open.

Sitting on 231,600 hectares, Kasungu National Park has the largest area coverage of miombo woodland in Malawi and is the catchment for Dwangwa River that flows east to Lake Malawi, watering communities along the way.

On the western side, the park ecologically connects with Lusukuzi National Park in Zambia as one landscape, allowing animals to move freely and frequently between the two national parks and beyond to the Luangwa ecosystem.

In 2024, the park received at least 1,218 tourists from 40 foreign countries (two percent more from the 1,198 visitors in 2023) and around 840 locals.

Minister of Tourism Vera Kamtukule says aside mining and agriculture, government considers tourism as a priority sector that can help to exponentially grow the economy to desired levels.

Currently, tourism contributes 7.7 percent towards the Gross Domestic Product, of which 2.7 percent is from the wildlife sector.