Coping with drought: Responses of herders and livestock in contrasting savanna environments in Southern Zimbabwe

This paper examines the contrasting responses to short- and long-term droughts shown by cattle populations in two different savanna ecosystems in a communal area in southern Zimbabwe. It illustrates how ecological responses are modified by differential management inputs—herding, transhumant movement, and supplementary feeding. The impacts of drought on cattle herds can thus be understood only with insight into this interaction of ecological and socioeconomic factors. Such detailed study of drought response can most effectively inform development planning.