Victoria Falls Elefence Project: Elephants Dying From Eating Plastic Waste [Video]

Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe is a popular vacation destination, with over one million visitors each year, but the trash left behind by those visitors is killing the wildlife they travel there to see.

According to Environment Africa – a local environment organization – at least six elephants have died so far this year from ingesting too much plastic waste at a dumpsite in Victoria Falls. Environment Africa is now making plans to stop more of these deaths by starting a crowdfunding campaign to raise $50,000 to build a solar-powered electric fence around the dump site in what has been dubbed the Victoria Falls Elefence Project.

Charlene Hewit, C.E.O. of Environment Africa told the Herald by email, “The fence will surround the dumpsite and will not be harmful to the animals,” adding that the electric fence would give the elephants a mild warning shock, teaching them this is not an area they should be in.

The report by the Herald quotes at least eight elephants dying from ingesting plastic at the dumpsite.

Victoria Falls Elefence Project: Elephants Dying From Eating Plastic Waste [Video] – https://t.co/tilMDAuiae pic.twitter.com/PZR2kQpRGZ

— Gossips RTNews (@GossipsRTNews) March 14, 2016

At present, it is unknown how much distance the fence will cover, but according to Trevor Shumbamhini, an electronics engineer, it will likely run on a potential energy of 5,000 volts using heavy aluminum wire.

According to Shumbamhini, the fence can work on two fronts, with a solar-powered energizer with an in-built battery, or using a separate external battery, depending on the circumstances involved. He said that both types can give power for extended periods, even when the sun is not shining.

Environment Africa says that by using solar energy, this will circumvent Zimbabwe’s existing power shortages, but Hewit says there is one potential problem in building the fence with aluminum wire.

“One of the issues with the fence that has to be taken care of is that people do not come and steal the wire and use that for snares for poaching.”

Hewit went on to say they have linked up with the Victoria Falls Anti-Poaching Unit (VAPU), who will assist with the anti-poaching activities around the area, and will also be involved in the protection of the electric fence itself.

Trevor Lane of the Bhejane Trust, operating in Victoria Falls and Hwange National Park, is also involved in the Victoria Falls Elefence project and said the elephants tend to eat the “highly-scented” plastic bags, especially those that contained bread, and that hopefully they pass them out when they defecate, but this is not always the case.

He told Times Live that not every plastic-eating elephant does survive and said that at least six were known to have died in the last year to 18 months from ingesting too much plastic, adding, “It must be a terribly agonizing death.”

Victoria Falls is one of the seven natural wonders of the world. The Inquisitr recently reported on the many activities and adventure sports available at Victoria Falls, including everything from safari tours to white water rafting, bungee jumping and crocodile cage diving.

These activities have made the area popular for international visitors to Zimbabwe, which is a good thing for local business. However, the area’s popularity has also drawn more residents to the area and the population has increased three-fold in the last two decades up to 33,000 in 2012.

The town struggles to manage the 3,300 tons of solid waste generated each year by the residents, businesses and the millions of tourists visiting the famous waterfall and the wildlife in the Victoria Falls National Park, meaning plastic waste particularly is becoming a huge problem.

According to the Herald, only 52 percent of the waste in Zimbabwe is properly collected and disposed of by municipalities, meaning the rest is either left in place, buried underground or burned.

In the case of Victoria Falls, the dump occupies a huge open space on the outskirts of the town and includes metal cans, plastic packaging and food waste. The latter makes the dump attractive to any wildlife in the area.

@NoAnimalPoachin An update including photos and a video: https://t.co/etSvBj0okr

— NoAnimalPoaching! (@NoAnimalPoachin) March 14, 2016

Baboons and elephants are regularly seen scavenging in the dump, says Hewit, adding, “They find it easier to come and eat at the dumpsite. They come during the evenings mostly.”

However, Hewit added that baboons are too intelligent to ingest the plastic waste. They can be seen in the image below, carefully picking over the trash to find food.

However, the claims of Environment Africa have been dismissed by the municipality in Victoria Falls, who state they are not aware of any elephants that have died from eating plastic in the town’s dumpsite. However, the video included at the end of this article tells a different story.

According to Dr Chris Foggin, a veterinary surgeon with the Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust, if plastic is consumed by the elephants “a very huge death could occur within a few days, possibly a week.”

He went on to say, however, that if it is an accumulation of large numbers of small pieces of plastic that somehow get together to make a large obstruction in the intestines, death could take months.

According to wildlife authorities, there are more than 80,000 elephants in Zimbabwe, which constitutes Africa’s largest herd and over 50 percent of these animals are concentrated in the Hwange-Victoria Falls area.

While Environment Africa continues with its plans for the Victoria Falls Elefence project with a crowdfunding operation coming soon, the municipality in Victoria Falls has reportedly started looking for better ways to manage the town’s waste. The town is finalizing tenders to construct an 8-cell landfill in the area.

The video below shows the beautiful scenes at Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, followed by scenes of the elephants and baboons picking over the trash in the landfill.

[Image via Wendy | Flickr | cropped and resized | CC BY-NC-ND 2.0]