Diet, Climate change and human versus wildlife in Zimbabwe.

By Dr. Eunice Dube, a Public Health Scientist born in Zimbabwe and now living in the United States of America.

April 2024.

Dr Eunice Dube is a Public Health Scientist born in Zimbabwe and now living in the United States of America                                                                                                                                

Essay comment on the article: “Diet explains Serengeti grazers’ predictable migration. Each species’ dining habits set the table for the next wave” By Elizabeth Pennisi. Science Magazine, February 16, 2024

1.        Introduction

1.1 Context

The writer describes from an ecological perspective how, since 2012 the migration of wild animals through the Serengeti and crossing the Tanzania-Kenya border in search of their special diet has been observed in real time by researchers. This migration, she continues, consists of large herds of animals. By studying their stool samples, they were able to determine what their diets consisted of, i.e., the type of grass they eat. In conclusion, the writer contends that migration keeps the animals searching for greener pastures, which she fears might be disrupted by the effects of climate change. Her views are, not surprisingly, supported by other ecologists internationally, including those studying animal migration patterns in Botswana, a country in southern Africa sharing borders with Zimbabwe, Namibia, and South Africa, with different climate conditions and vegetation from the ones in East Africa (Kenya and Tanzania), albeit similar animal species including the Big Five.  Where are humans when all this wildlife tradition is taking place? Zimbabwe serves as a case example in a quest to protect human species from the dire effects of climate change and wildlife domination.

1.2         Literature on the Zimbabwean situation

Share, (2023) examines the plight of wildlife in Zimbabwe that despite the “Kavango-Zambezi Transformation Conservation Area” locals say “…the elephants eat breakfast in Zimbabwe, lunch in Botswana, and supper in another country…” (Africanews.com, 2023).  They suggest that due to climate change, the human-animal conflict is expected to get worse.  This concern was echoed by an official at the Zimbabwe National Parks and wildlife who was escorting the United Nations (UN) Deputy Secretary-General at the Hwange National Park while attending the 6th Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development in Victoria Falls themed 2020-2030:  A decade to deliver a Transformed and Prosperous Africa through the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Africa Union’s Agenda 2063.

Furthermore, Kupika et al, (2017) reported that because of their mixed method study in selected parts of Zimbabwe, they determined that the effects of climate change would include reductions in both human and animal species due to their inability to reproduce.  In addition, in 2021, Zimbabwean scientists, supported by the “…UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme Strategic Plan…”  explored the effects of climate change in Zimbabwe considering the threat to rural communities in Zimbabwe. The project was to include views of local communities in any strategic plan related to the consequences of climate change in the context of man versus wildlife conservation, and in terms of related current legislation. This study, however, was focused on larger settlements in Zimbabwe that are linked to tourism, one of the country’s revenue sources.

2.        A personal observation regarding diet, climate change, man vs wildlife and aspects of health protection in a rural part of Matabeleland South Province of Zimbabwe

2.1 The early years

Growing up at Mtshabezi was always full of fun, hard work, and enjoying the various species of wild fruit in my neighborhood especially in the summer if the rains were good. We could catch fish with our bare hands as they swam downstream if the rain had filled up the dam upstream forcing them to follow the Mtshabezi river’s might south towards Limpopo. It never occurred to us that we could be swept downstream as well. There was no competition at that time as there was enough food and choices for both man and wild animals. The rock rabbit and the baboons woke us up at the first rays of the morning sun, each trying to figure out where their next meal would come from, and what type that meal would be. We knew that the baboons would be watching to make sure they took us by surprise in our corn(maize) field so they could help themselves. It was not such a big problem at that time (except that we were afraid of them in case they attacked us) because they wanted a balanced diet and would eat whatever else they fancied in the bush all the way to the mountains. There were numerous species of birds including the southern ground hornbill and other colorful small and medium sized birds. The birds came in flocks of 20-30, and loved millet, sorghum, and other small grain corn. We covered most of the corn stock, so they did not eat it all. As we walked the two kilometers to school through the bush, we were sure to meet Kudus, antelope, duiker, hare, and at times those not so nice creatures called snake. So, you had to watch your step. A big bird species, the southern ground hornbill was our friend because it preyed on snakes.

That was before this phenomenon called climate change which struck with such might that the community had to strategize, which is not easy if the temperatures are above 35degrees Celsius most of the days with no cloud in the sky to indicate a possibility of rain later in the evening. Thank goodness for ground water and solar panels, people can get water from the protected boreholes at strategic areas in the village.

2.2         August -September 2023

Returning to my birth home thirteen years later was as shocking as the changing weather patterns. One night I would be sitting by the fire with near freezing temperatures, and it would be seasonally warm for the next week or so and then cold spells again. There was a drizzle one night of the whole 8 weeks I was there, it was the dry windy season, and the seasonally flowing rivers were dry. One thing that struck me was the siltation that had reduced the Mtshabezi river’s capacity by more than 75%. Cattle, donkeys, and goats were roaming around looking for drinking water and food. There were reports that one cow was spotted by a neighbor eating a piece of plastic, and the villagers were trying to make it drink cooking oil with the hope that the plastic would be expelled in its dung. There were no wild animals that one would normally be on the lookout for as they were the major causes of road traffic accident along the fourteen-kilometer stretch from the Bulawayo-Gwanda Road past the High School and Bible School to my home. The only sign of wildlife I was lucky to see was the southern ground hornbill (Bucorvus Leadbeater) pictured below obviously in search of food and not waiting to pose for a snapshot.

Fig. 1    Southern Ground hornbill at Mtshabezi Mission, Zimbabwe.

ground hornbill

2.3         A change in dietary habits for baboons.

I woke up one morning and saw three baboons on a xakuxaku tree (Fig. 2) below about thirty meters away from our house (see video Dube, 2023). I had never seen baboons eating xakuxaku, a wild fruit that humans enjoy chewing. There are about fourteen trees of this species around our field. This was the first time in my entire life that I had seen baboons eating this kind of fruit, a sign that times have changed.

The biggest baboon surprise, however, was when he walked into the yard and stole chicks, cut the hen’s throat in a split second before we could chase him away. That was a definite change in their diet as we knew it. A neighbor told how the baboons had grabbed two of his young goats the previous week and quickly ran off to the mountain for dinner. All this is new, and the farmers do not know how to protect themselves and their livelihood from the baboons as one remarked that the group that is harassing villagers has more young ones than the old meaning that they will be around for a while. Villagers are concerned about what diseases these wild animals are transmitting to their livestock, and human beings in the light of Covid -19 which was first transmitted by wild animals to humans.

As a Public Health Scientist, I wondered if a group of Ecologists, Veterinarians and villagers could team up with other medical scientists to find out how to minimize human exposure to whatever viruses the baboons are carrying now that they do not respect peoples’ yards and kraals, defecate and pee wherever they choose. What can repel baboons because they fight dogs and are no longer as afraid of humans and scarecrows as much as they used to when I was growing up. They do not seem to migrate a distance longer than a few kilometers from the base.

3.        Conclusion

Climate change is affecting how species organize their lives and livelihoods. UNICEF, (2023) has already projected that the effects of climate change in Zimbabwe, Matabeleland South Province will affect children’s health for a long time and called upon all of us to act to protect the children. This essay attempted to highlight a situation in Zimbabwe that has not yet caught the attention of scientists and policy makers while villagers struggle to survive amidst baboons in Matabeleland South Province.

Fig. 2     Uxakuxaku fruit at Mtshabezi Mission, Zimbabwe

References

Africa Renewal. "CLIMATE CHANGEUN: Deputy Secretary-General sees firsthand climate change effects in Zimbabwe’s largest animal park." n.d. Africa Renewal. https://www.un.org/africarenewal/web-features/un-deputy-secretary-general-sees-firsthand-climate-change-effects-zimbabwe%E2%80%99s-largest . 15 February 2024.

Dube, Eunice. Nature and living in the rural areas. Gwanda, 21 September 2023. YouTube video @EuniceDube-dy8kt.

Kupika, , Olga L., et al. "Impacts of Climate Change and Climate Variability on Wildlife Resources in Southern Africa: Experience from Selected Protected Areas in Zimbabwe." 20 December 2017. Intechopen. https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/56873. 15 February 2024.

Kupika, Olga L., Edson Gandiwa and Godwell Nhamo. "Local Ecological Knowledge on Climate Change and Ecosystem-Based Adaptation Strategies Promote Resilience in the Middle Zambezi Biosphere Reserve, Zimbabwe." Scientific (Cairo) (2019): full text. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6432702/ .

Pennisi, Elizabeth. "Diet explains Serengeti grazers' predictable migration; each species dining habits set the table for the next wave." Science Magazine (2024): 690-691. https://www.sciencemagazinedigital.org/sciencemagazine/library/item/16_february_2024/4171854/?Cust_No=60797564&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=TXSCI2240215002&utm_content=gtxcel.

Share. "Zimbabwe's wild life crisis is due to extreme drought." 23 November 2023. AfricaNews.com. https://www.africanews.com/2023/11/23/zimbabwes-wildlife-in-crisis-due-to-extreme-drought/. 15 February 2024.

UNICEF. "Monitoring the situation for children: Non-communicable diseases." UNICEF Data December 2023. UNICEF DATA https://data.unicef.org/topic/child-health/noncommunicable-diseases/ .