It is important to note that rather than a lack of water, it was a lack of food that has been killing elephants and other wildlife. Many parts of the Park received inadequate rainfall last season, so browse and vegetation was already limited. To further complicate matters, early on in the year, a massive influx of livestock was illegally herded into the Park, escaping severe drought in other parts of the country. The livestock prematurely depleted natural waterholes and vegetation, forcing wildlife to concentrate around a drastically reduced number of water sources both natural and man-made