Poachers Use Cyanide to Poison 87 Elephants in Zimbabwe, Tusks Removed from All

Poachers in Zimbabwe have poisoned a watering hole with cyanide, leading to the deaths of more than 80 elephants in the nation's largest game park.

Other small animals, vultures and other scavengers of the elephant corpses have also died from cyanide poisoning, but the total number is still unclear, said Zimbabwe Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi after assessing the scene at Hwange National Park earlier this week.

At least 40 elephants were found dead in the park earlier this month and the same form of cyanide poisoning is believed to be the cause of death for an additional two score of elephants.

"Industrial cyanide used in gold mining was put in remote water holes and on salty ground that the elephants like to lick after drinking the water," Caroline Washaya-Moyo, a park spokeswoman, told NBC News. "The poison was killing them and they were taking the tusks."

Washaya-Moyo said 87 elephant corpses had been found in the park so far this month, all with their tusks removed.

"This kind of indiscriminate killing is truly horrendous. By poisoning a watering hole, poachers condemn every other animal feeding in that vicinity -- from lions and leopards to vultures and bird life," said Drew McVey, African species expert at the World Wildlife Fund.

The UN-backed Convention on International Trade and Endangered Species (CITES) banned ivory trading in 1989, but today the poaching of African elephants is at an all-time high, according to the All Africa news agency, which added that nine alleged poachers were arrested after park rangers tracked them to a cache of ivory stashed in the park.

A recent United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report stated that between 5,600 and 15,400 elephants are poached each year in East Africa alone, producing between 56 and 154 metric tons of illicit ivory.

"Very large shipments, involving the ivory of tens or even hundreds of elephants, are regularly encountered, suggesting a well-developed and well-resourced distribution network," the UNODC stated.

Asia is the main market for illegal ivory, the report stated, adding that in 2011 the value of the 37 metric tons of ivory smuggled into the continent was worth about $30 million.