Outrage over the announcement that SANParks in Kruger National Park is to cull 4,700 Savanna Buffalo and 750 Common Hippopotamus, because of the ongoing drought. Why?
Kruger is a fenced reserve, apart from some dropped sections of the international boundary with Mozambique; and as such despite exceeding 20,000 square kilometres it has to be managed. For decades there have been controlled burns, closure and opening of waterpoints, in the past culls of Elephant and Buffalo. The proposed cull will remove 10% of the Buffalo (there are estimated 47,000) and 10% of the Hippos (about 7,500). 
The ignorant state that nature must take its course - how many of these 'wise folk' have seen starving Buffalo and Hippo - we think none. It is a sight once seen, you will not want to see it again! Meat from the culled mammals will be given to poor local communities. So, this has provoked cries that the famous park is to be turned into a 'soup kitchen'! Rubbish!
In our opinion another candidate for culling should be Elephant in the park. There are now some 20,000 of these fine creatures in Kruger. Their numbers are such that they are modifying habitats to such an extent that it is impacting species other than the pachyderms. 
Let nature take its course - we don't think so!