An ivory poacher in northern Zimbabwe was killed in a shootout with police and ten tusks recovered, a conservation group has said.
According to the Matusadona Anti-Poaching Project (MAPP), the incident happened on Tuesday when a gang of poachers attacked law enforcement agents who had surprised the alleged poachers as they tried to sell the tusks.
One poacher tried to stab one of the officers while another opened fire, MAPP said.
The Black Mambas, as the anti-poaching team was called, killed one poacher and recovered 10 tusks.
Elephant populations in the Zambezi Valley were reportedly down by 40% at the end of 2014 because of poaching. In the Matusadona area, south of the lake, the population was reported to have dropped by 75% over a 13-year period.
The Zimbabwe authorities were stepping up their fight against the poaching of elephant, rhino and other game, handing down some heavy sentences to convicted poachers.
Around 60 elephants were poisoned with cyanide in north-western Hwange last year. Poachers took some, but not all of the tusks.
The carcass of another poisoned elephant was found in a forest next to Hwange National Park, it was reported on Sunday.
