By BlueShift and AFP | 2025-12-31

Zimbabwe villager Takesure Moyo lost six cattle to lions a few years ago in the area near Hwange National Park, prompting him to become involved in a project to protect his community that makes use of satellite data.

"We have always lived with wild animals around us, but our responses to human-wildlife conflict were rather individual and uncoordinated," Moyo told AFP.

Wild animals have killed around 300 people in Zimbabwe over the past five years, according to Zimbabwe's National Parks and Wildlife Authority (Zimparks), with crops and livestock also suffering heavy losses.

Nearly 70% of reported incidents occur in communities bordering national parks such as Hwange, it says.

Riding a bicycle provided by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), which is partnering with Zimparks for the initiative, Moyo patrols the area around his village each day.

He uses an app on his phone to log sightings, spoor (animal tracks) and incidents, sending updates to Zimparks with a focus on "problem animals" like elephants and lions.

His input complements data received by satellite from GPS collars fitted to 16 elephants in the area, both feeding a mobile application called EarthRanger that allows real-time monitoring and rapid response.

'Highly effective app'

Zimbabwe is home to nearly 100,000 elephants, the world's second-largest population of savannah elephants after neighboring Botswana, per a 2022 aerial survey conducted under the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area.

"During the dry season, elephants sometimes come for water at the nearby dam, which is the source of water for our communal gardens," Moyo said. "And during the cropping season, they can come to eat our crops."

The EarthRanger app, used in 80 countries, according to its developers, is "highly effective," said Zimparks acting public relations manager Tamirirashe Mudzingwa.

Developed by the US-based company Vulcan LLC, in partnership with conservation and technology partners, the app, now maintained by Ai2, combines real-time data from ranger patrols, remote imaging and sensors.

In Africa, it has transformed conservation efforts in Central African Republic, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Ethiopia and Democratic Republic of the Congo, helping with human wildlife conflict, ecological management and security.

Across the ocean in South America, it has supported projects to protect puma in Chile and the Osa Peninsula's habitat Costa Rica, among others.

Used as a live early warning system in Zimbabwe, the app gives communities time to protect themselves, their livestock and property from approaching wildlife, Mudzingwa said.

A separate project collects data from collars fitted to some elephants that have been rescued, rehabilitated and reintroduced to free-roaming herds by the Wild Is Life organization.

'Critical spacial insights'

At a monitoring centre, technical officer Simbarashe Mupanhwa pointed to multi-colored lines on his computer screen that tracked the movements of Samson, a seven-year-old elephant.

"Other than helping monitor the elephants' movements, the application is also able to track the organization's rangers and vehicles, helping ensure that if there are any incidents of poaching, reaction is as swift as possible," Mupanhwa said.

Governments across Africa are using satellites for wildlife and natural resource conservation.

Kenya has adopted geospatial tools to track wildlife migrations, human encroachment, and land-use changes, focusing on elephant conservation.

Detailed mapping of habitat loss informs decisions on fencing, protected areas, and community engagement. These tools also help rangers identify poaching risks by highlighting unusual movement patterns or new access routes.

Satellite telemetry "offers critical spatial insights into habitat use, movement patterns, and the identification of frequently utilized areas, including ecological corridors and dispersal zones," said IFAW conservation senior director Phillip Kuvawoga.

In villages like Moyo's, the impact is tangible.

"It's not just about protecting animals," Moyo said. "It's about protecting our way of life, too."