The continuingdrought is hitting South Africahard . Now into its second year with small rain , the Frederick North east of the country is sear and barren , with millions of mass threaten by food shortages as crop are failing and cattle dying . But it is not only the the great unwashed who are in the grip of the drouth , as the abundant wildlife is also suffering .

So much so , that the national parks servicehas started killingthe abundant hippos and buffalo as there is only not enough flora to support their numbers . “ We do not call it a reject . We call it an offtake , ” the spokesperson for South African National Parks , Isaac Phaahla toldThe Guardian . “ It ’s a direction tool and we require to understand what impact it will have . Our bearing is to have sustainable usage [ of resources ] and populations . ” While there is current still just about enough water for the animals , there is a chronic dearth of food .

It is recall that there are presently around 8,000 hippopotamuses and47,000 buffaloinKruger National Park , the largest game common in South Africa , and one of the most well - jazz on the integral continent . This is thought to be the high-pitched their number have ever been , and coupled with healthy act of other heavy herbivore , such as elephants , the vegetation in the park has been put under considerable stress during the drought . While there was a little mo of rain in March this year , it was not most enough to break the drouth , and now the animals are suffer .

The national park agency want to drink down the creature in gild to prevent them from dying of starvation and then rotting in the parks immense landscape . They have also suggested that allow a veterinary surgeon says everything is OK , the meat could be passed on to local communities bordering the commons who are also bear due to the drouth . in the first place in the yearthe authorities killed 59 hippos , according to report card , while it is think they are now planning on targeting another 100 , as well as turning their sights on 200 buffalo .

Forecasts are showing that it is unlikely to rain anytime presently , andgovernment ministers have saidthat there is on the face of it no end in sight . The worry now is that with the harvest time in South Africa already down by a quarter , and over 15 percent of the country ’s oxen herds already lost , that millions of people across the region will be at a major endangerment of food famine .