"More than 40 elephants, 53 buffaloes, a giraffe, three zebras and two impala succumbed to thirst and blackleg, a disease that affects animals when the ground is too dry," the Herald quoted National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority spokesman Edward Mbewe as saying.

Wildlife authorities have recommended elephant culling in the Hwange national park to bring the population to "manageable levels."

The government last month announced plans to move elephants from the country's overburdened national parks to Namibia after at least 50 pachyderms starved to death.

The elephants died in separate incidents in Hwange national park in Zimbabwe's dry southwestern region, prompting senior government officials to visit the area to investigate the cause of the deaths.

In May, the National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority invited Zimbabwean farmers who run private game reserves to buy elephants to decongest areas where elephant populations are concentrated.

Zimbabwe has 100,000 elephants against its carrying capacity of 45,000, posing a risk to smaller animal species and placing a burden on scarce water supplies.

"If trends continue at this rate, we are going to have a major disaster," national parks chief Morris Mutsambiwa warned.

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