Harare, Zimbabwe (CNN) Zimbabwe made $2.7 million from the sale of more than 90 elephants to China and Dubai, according to a spokesman for the country's wildlife agency.

Money from the sales will be used to support conservation efforts, said Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority spokesman Tinashe Farawo.

Farawo said the agency was having difficulty controlling the population in its national parks, and that proceeds from the sales, made over a six-year period, will be used for the upkeep of its remaining elephants. "We are struggling with a ballooning number of elephants. We believe in sustainable utilization of our resources, and these elephants must pay for their upkeep," Farawo told CNN.

He said water levels were running low in rivers in its parks and officials have been using alternative water sources to feed the animals.

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"We have a situation where most of our game parks use borehole water, and that needs a lot of resources. These are some of the costs that we are grappling when there is drought," he added.

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