Parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources and Climate Change chairperson Werani Chilenga has expressed excitement with the restoration of Majete Wildlife Reserve in Chikwawa District.
He said this on Saturday when the committee visited the game reserve to appreciate how it was thriving.
Chilenga said the restoration has made Malawi to be one of the countries that is winning the battle of wildlife trafficking.
He said this is a result of Parliament’s efforts to remove fines on wildlife offences and make punishments custodial.
Said Chilenga: “As a committee, we felt that we should visit Majete Wildlife Reserve, which has been restored to its former glory. As you may be aware, Malawi has done well in wildlife conservation since 2015.
“Malawi is ranking among 10 countries in the world in as far as wildlife conservation is concerned. This has been necessitated by the revision of the Wildlife Act in 2015.”
Majete Wildlife Reserve field operations manager Martin Gibson Awazi said the reserve now has big seven from big five because they have included wild dogs and cheetahs.
He said: “Currently, we have 14 wild dogs and 10 cheaters. They were not doing well previously, but now their population is increasing, showing that they have adapted to the environment.
“We also have 75 lions but we are estimating them to be over 80.”
Awazi said they installed cameras to monitor animals and their homes.
