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George Maponga in MASVINGO
THE Parks and Wildlife Management Authority has recovered 29 elephant tusks weighing nearly 300kg after intercepting a group of suspected Zambian poachers in the Katombora area near the Zambezi National Park last Sunday.

This comes as poachers killed and de-horned two rhinos in the Save Valley Conservancy in the wildlife-rich South East Lowveld area on the same day.

Parks Authority spokesperson Ms Caroline Washaya Moyo said rangers recovered tusks worth about $50 000 when it intercepted 12 Zambian poachers.

She said local rangers were involved in a joint operation with their colleagues from Zambia leading to the recovery of the tusks but all the suspects managed to flee.

“We recovered 29 tusks weighing 297,3kilogrammes valued at $47 468, two knives, four mosquito nets, nine blankets, seven bed sheets, three jackets, a giraffe tail and five kilogrammes of maize-meal.”

Ms Washaya Moyo said the female rhino and a calf were killed and de-horned by suspected poachers at Save Valley Conservancy.

Mr David Goosen, an executive committee member at Save Valley and chairman of the Rhino protection subcommittee, said investigations into the killing of the two rhinos were almost complete.