Interi branchi di ippopotami sono stati vittime della grave siccità in Botswana: è l’allarme delle autorità preposte alla loro tutela. “I sistemi fluviali si stanno prosciugando e gli animali sono in pericolo”, ha spiegato Lesego Moseki, portavoce del dipartimento di Fauna selvatica e Parchi nazionali (Dwnp) di Gaborone. L’Africa meridionale è stata colpita da una grave siccità che ha spinto diversi Paesi della regione a dichiarare lo stato di calamità nazionale. Nel nord del Botswana, vicino al Delta dell’Okavango, il prosciugamento del fiume Thamalakane ha costretto i branchi di ippopotami a dirigersi verso le riserve d’acqua naturali nei pressi della città turistica di Maun, da dove la maggior parte dei turisti parte per i safari nei principali parchi naturali del Paese.
- A baby hippo walks on mud in a dried up channel near the Nxaraga village in the Okavango Delta on the outskirts of Maun on April 25, 2024. A drought across southern Africa has been driven mostly by the El Nino weather pattern, not climate change, scientists said. Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi have declared a national disaster over the severe dry spell that started in January and has devastated the agricultural sector, decimating crops and pastures. Scientists at the World Weather Attribution (WWA) research group found global warming had little to do with it. In a study focusing on Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia and Mozambique, researchers analysed historical weather data for the period from December to February — the peak of the rainy season. They found rainfall has actually increased in the region as the planet warms. But effective precipitation has remained the same, likely because higher temperatures lead to more water evaporation, they said. On the other hand, El Nino, a recurring natural weather phenomenon, brought fewer showers, increasing the likelihood of severe droughts, the data showed. (Photo by Monirul Bhuiyan / AFP)
- TOPSHOT – This aerial view shows hippos stuck in a dried up channel near the Nxaraga village in the Okavango Delta on the outskirts of Maun on April 25, 2024. A drought across southern Africa has been driven mostly by the El Nino weather pattern, not climate change, scientists said. Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi have declared a national disaster over the severe dry spell that started in January and has devastated the agricultural sector, decimating crops and pastures. Scientists at the World Weather Attribution (WWA) research group found global warming had little to do with it. In a study focusing on Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia and Mozambique, researchers analysed historical weather data for the period from December to February — the peak of the rainy season. They found rainfall has actually increased in the region as the planet warms. But effective precipitation has remained the same, likely because higher temperatures lead to more water evaporation, they said. On the other hand, El Nino, a recurring natural weather phenomenon, brought fewer showers, increasing the likelihood of severe droughts, the data showed. (Photo by Monirul Bhuiyan / AFP)
- Cattle farmers attempt to rescue a livestock wallowed in the mud in a dried up channel near the Nxaraga village in the Okavango Delta on the outskirts of Maun on April 25, 2024. A drought across southern Africa has been driven mostly by the El Nino weather pattern, not climate change, scientists said. Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi have declared a national disaster over the severe dry spell that started in January and has devastated the agricultural sector, decimating crops and pastures. Scientists at the World Weather Attribution (WWA) research group found global warming had little to do with it. In a study focusing on Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia and Mozambique, researchers analysed historical weather data for the period from December to February — the peak of the rainy season. They found rainfall has actually increased in the region as the planet warms. But effective precipitation has remained the same, likely because higher temperatures lead to more water evaporation, they said. On the other hand, El Nino, a recurring natural weather phenomenon, brought fewer showers, increasing the likelihood of severe droughts, the data showed. (Photo by Monirul Bhuiyan / AFP)
- TOPSHOT – This aerial view shows hippos stuck in a dried up channel near the Nxaraga village in the Okavango Delta on the outskirts of Maun on April 25, 2024. A drought across southern Africa has been driven mostly by the El Nino weather pattern, not climate change, scientists said. Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi have declared a national disaster over the severe dry spell that started in January and has devastated the agricultural sector, decimating crops and pastures. Scientists at the World Weather Attribution (WWA) research group found global warming had little to do with it. In a study focusing on Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia and Mozambique, researchers analysed historical weather data for the period from December to February — the peak of the rainy season. They found rainfall has actually increased in the region as the planet warms. But effective precipitation has remained the same, likely because higher temperatures lead to more water evaporation, they said. On the other hand, El Nino, a recurring natural weather phenomenon, brought fewer showers, increasing the likelihood of severe droughts, the data showed. (Photo by Monirul Bhuiyan / AFP)
- Hippos stand next to other hippos stuck in a dried up channel near the Nxaraga village in the Okavango Delta on the outskirts of Maun on April 25, 2024. A drought across southern Africa has been driven mostly by the El Nino weather pattern, not climate change, scientists said. Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi have declared a national disaster over the severe dry spell that started in January and has devastated the agricultural sector, decimating crops and pastures. Scientists at the World Weather Attribution (WWA) research group found global warming had little to do with it. In a study focusing on Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia and Mozambique, researchers analysed historical weather data for the period from December to February — the peak of the rainy season. They found rainfall has actually increased in the region as the planet warms. But effective precipitation has remained the same, likely because higher temperatures lead to more water evaporation, they said. On the other hand, El Nino, a recurring natural weather phenomenon, brought fewer showers, increasing the likelihood of severe droughts, the data showed. (Photo by Monirul Bhuiyan / AFP)
- A general view of hippos stuck in a dried up channel near the Nxaraga village in the Okavango Delta on the outskirts of Maun on April 25, 2024. A drought across southern Africa has been driven mostly by the El Nino weather pattern, not climate change, scientists said. Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi have declared a national disaster over the severe dry spell that started in January and has devastated the agricultural sector, decimating crops and pastures. Scientists at the World Weather Attribution (WWA) research group found global warming had little to do with it. In a study focusing on Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia and Mozambique, researchers analysed historical weather data for the period from December to February — the peak of the rainy season. They found rainfall has actually increased in the region as the planet warms. But effective precipitation has remained the same, likely because higher temperatures lead to more water evaporation, they said. On the other hand, El Nino, a recurring natural weather phenomenon, brought fewer showers, increasing the likelihood of severe droughts, the data showed. (Photo by Monirul Bhuiyan / AFP)
- Remains of a dead animal is seen in one of the dried up channel near the Nxaraga village in the Okavango Delta on the outskirts of Maun on April 25, 2024. A drought across southern Africa has been driven mostly by the El Nino weather pattern, not climate change, scientists said. Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi have declared a national disaster over the severe dry spell that started in January and has devastated the agricultural sector, decimating crops and pastures. Scientists at the World Weather Attribution (WWA) research group found global warming had little to do with it. In a study focusing on Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia and Mozambique, researchers analysed historical weather data for the period from December to February — the peak of the rainy season. They found rainfall has actually increased in the region as the planet warms. But effective precipitation has remained the same, likely because higher temperatures lead to more water evaporation, they said. On the other hand, El Nino, a recurring natural weather phenomenon, brought fewer showers, increasing the likelihood of severe droughts, the data showed. (Photo by Monirul Bhuiyan / AFP)
- A baby hippo stands next to other hippos stuck in a dried up channel near the Nxaraga village in the Okavango Delta on the outskirts of Maun on April 25, 2024. A drought across southern Africa has been driven mostly by the El Nino weather pattern, not climate change, scientists said. Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi have declared a national disaster over the severe dry spell that started in January and has devastated the agricultural sector, decimating crops and pastures. Scientists at the World Weather Attribution (WWA) research group found global warming had little to do with it. In a study focusing on Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia and Mozambique, researchers analysed historical weather data for the period from December to February — the peak of the rainy season. They found rainfall has actually increased in the region as the planet warms. But effective precipitation has remained the same, likely because higher temperatures lead to more water evaporation, they said. On the other hand, El Nino, a recurring natural weather phenomenon, brought fewer showers, increasing the likelihood of severe droughts, the data showed. (Photo by Monirul Bhuiyan / AFP)
- This aerial view shows hippos stuck in a dried up channel near the Nxaraga village in the Okavango Delta on the outskirts of Maun on April 25, 2024. A drought across southern Africa has been driven mostly by the El Nino weather pattern, not climate change, scientists said. Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi have declared a national disaster over the severe dry spell that started in January and has devastated the agricultural sector, decimating crops and pastures. Scientists at the World Weather Attribution (WWA) research group found global warming had little to do with it. In a study focusing on Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia and Mozambique, researchers analysed historical weather data for the period from December to February — the peak of the rainy season. They found rainfall has actually increased in the region as the planet warms. But effective precipitation has remained the same, likely because higher temperatures lead to more water evaporation, they said. On the other hand, El Nino, a recurring natural weather phenomenon, brought fewer showers, increasing the likelihood of severe droughts, the data showed. (Photo by Monirul Bhuiyan / AFP)
POPOLAZIONE STIMATA TRA I 2 E I 4MILA ESEMPLARI
Gli ippopotami, dalla pelle spessa ma sensibile, hanno bisogno di lavarsi regolarmente per evitare scottature e di solito vivono in zone umide. In assenza di acqua, questi animali possono diventare aggressivi e avvicinarsi ai villaggi, mentre le autorità locali chiedono che i mammiferi vengano trasferiti nelle riserve, in particolare per evitare conflitti con l’uomo. Il Botswana ospita una delle più grandi popolazioni di ippopotami in libertà al mondo, stimata tra i 2mila e i 4mila esemplari dall’Unione internazionale per la Conservazione della Natura (Iucn). La specie è considerata ad alto rischio di estinzione. (Ansa/Afp)
Su 24zampe: Circa 160 globicefali spiaggiati in Australia, 31 sono morti
