Drought Threatens Wildlife Industry in South Africa
2020-01-13
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1Extreme drought is threatening South Africa's wildlife industry.
2Farmers are keeping fewer animals and vacationers are visiting in smaller numbers.
3Parts of the country have been affected by repeated years of hotter than normal weather and below average rainfall.
4The conditions have burned feeding grasses and dried up watering holes.
5In 2015, the area saw the driest year on record.
6The agency Wildlife Ranching South Africa (WRSA) collects data on more than 9,000 wildlife ranches in the nation.
7It estimates that the Northern Cape province has lost more than two-thirds of its game over the last three years.
8WRSA is talking to ranchers around the country to gather information on animal loss and the financial impact the drought is having.
9WRSA chief Adri Kitshoff-Botha told Reuters News Agency the drought has continued for some time.
10"In some areas we've seen it has been going now for six years," she said.
11The wildlife industry brings money to South Africa's economy through tourism, hunting, breeding and meat production.
12Trophy hunting - the shooting of carefully chosen animals - made $140 million in 2016.
13That information comes from research by the environment ministry.
14The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change notes Southern Africa's temperatures are rising at two times the world's average rate.
15And in much of South Africa, the level of water in manmade lakes is decreasing.
16Burger Schoeman supervises the Thuru Lodge in the Northern Cape.
17There, the dying plants and dry grounds are a serious concern.
18In the past, the lodge was home to around 4,500 wild animals - including 35 different species, from antelope to rhino.
19But it has lost around 1,000 animals because of the drought.
20Now, dead animals sit in old, unused mines on the edge of the property.
21Schoeman told reporters from the Reuters news agency, "At this stage we are quite stretched. All the money you get from selling the animals, the meat and all of that, gets put straight back into the property to look after the rest of the animals."
22The lodge has seen its spending rise as it buys more feed for the animals.
23At the same time, hunters are paying less, and fewer tourists are visiting because the animals are in poor condition.
24At the 48,000-hectare Karreekloof Safari Lodge in the same province, game rangers find dead animals every week.
25Gideon Watts is the ranch supervisor there.
26"Nobody wants to buy the game, because they also (are experiencing) ... the same drought," he said.
27He added that his farm got only one-fourth of its usual rainfall this year.
28The industry has seen a decrease of around 20 percent in tourists over the past year, said WRSA's Kitshoff-Botha.
29The drought has also hit other parts of Southern Africa.
30In Botswana, more than 100 elephants died in two months in 2019.
31Botswana is home to almost one-third of Africa's elephants.
32I'm Alice Bryant.
1Extreme drought is threatening South Africa's wildlife industry. Farmers are keeping fewer animals and vacationers are visiting in smaller numbers. 2Parts of the country have been affected by repeated years of hotter than normal weather and below average rainfall. The conditions have burned feeding grasses and dried up watering holes. In 2015, the area saw the driest year on record. 3The agency Wildlife Ranching South Africa (WRSA) collects data on more than 9,000 wildlife ranches in the nation. It estimates that the Northern Cape province has lost more than two-thirds of its game over the last three years. WRSA is talking to ranchers around the country to gather information on animal loss and the financial impact the drought is having. 4WRSA chief Adri Kitshoff-Botha told Reuters News Agency the drought has continued for some time. "In some areas we've seen it has been going now for six years," she said. 5The wildlife industry brings money to South Africa's economy through tourism, hunting, breeding and meat production. Trophy hunting - the shooting of carefully chosen animals - made $140 million in 2016. That information comes from research by the environment ministry. 6The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change notes Southern Africa's temperatures are rising at two times the world's average rate. And in much of South Africa, the level of water in manmade lakes is decreasing. 7Burger Schoeman supervises the Thuru Lodge in the Northern Cape. There, the dying plants and dry grounds are a serious concern. 8In the past, the lodge was home to around 4,500 wild animals - including 35 different species, from antelope to rhino. But it has lost around 1,000 animals because of the drought. Now, dead animals sit in old, unused mines on the edge of the property. 9Schoeman told reporters from the Reuters news agency, "At this stage we are quite stretched. All the money you get from selling the animals, the meat and all of that, gets put straight back into the property to look after the rest of the animals." 10The lodge has seen its spending rise as it buys more feed for the animals. At the same time, hunters are paying less, and fewer tourists are visiting because the animals are in poor condition. 11At the 48,000-hectare Karreekloof Safari Lodge in the same province, game rangers find dead animals every week. 12Gideon Watts is the ranch supervisor there. "Nobody wants to buy the game, because they also (are experiencing) ... the same drought," he said. He added that his farm got only one-fourth of its usual rainfall this year. 13The industry has seen a decrease of around 20 percent in tourists over the past year, said WRSA's Kitshoff-Botha. 14The drought has also hit other parts of Southern Africa. In Botswana, more than 100 elephants died in two months in 2019. Botswana is home to almost one-third of Africa's elephants. 15I'm Alice Bryant. 16Tanisha Heiberg reported this story for Reuters News Agency. Alice Bryant adapted it for Learning English. Kelly Jean Kelly was the editor. 17_______________________________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19ranch - n. a large farm where animals are raised 20province - n. any of the large parts that some countries are divided into 21game - n. animals that are hunted 22tourism - n. the activity of traveling to a place for pleasure 23breeding - n. the process by which young animals are produced by their parents 24species - n. a group of animals or plants that are similar and can produce young animals or plants 25ranger - n. a person in charge of managing and protecting part of a national park or wildlife lodge