Zimbabwe Selling 8,000 Elephants

Wildlife authorities put 8,000 elephants up for sale Monday and said unsold animals may have to be killed.

The national parks department said it was trying to reduce herds to protect vegetation in six nature reserves.

In a notice advertising the sale, the department said it preferred the elephants to go to buyers within Zimbabwe or elsewhere in southern Africa. “Proposals will also be considered for culling operations, or a combination of both capture and culling,” the notice said.

It said potential buyers had until April 28 to specify what price they were willing to pay for the animals and how they planned to transport them.

Last year, elephants were sold for up to $365 each, and buyers had to pay to capture and transport the animals.