I chose Zimbabwe because this country is home to many of my favorite animals, including lions, elephants, and wild dogs. I care a lot about animals and it is important to me to bring attention the struggles they are facing. It is very upsetting to know that the animals are dying due to the mistakes humans are making. It is also upsetting to know that we aren't doing much to pull these animals back from the brink of extinction.
At the beginning, my thesis was focused on the overall effects of the drought on the animals, but as I looked into the drought more and more, I realized that the animals were suffering from much more than thirst. The animals were suffering from famine and dangerous environments, but also from humans. If it wasn't enough to have caused global warming that led to this extremely dry season, humans have also started petitions to lift the ban on selling ivory. It surprised me to learn that there were multiple factors causing the African wildlife population to plummet.
I struggled to find more diverse answers because the sources that popped up in google search all said the same thing. Once in a while I was able to find one or two sources that covered different aspects of the drought. During this research project, I found out that both humans and nature were causing the animal population numbers to drop. It concerns me that some humans were more worried about themselves and their wealth from ivory sales than trying to save the animals from extinction.