The Sunday News
Michael Magoronga, Midlands Correspondent
ZIMBABWE’s elephant population continues to increase leading to a surge in human wildlife conflicts as the jumbos invade human communities in search of water and food.
Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority (ZimParks) spokesperson Mr Tinashe Farawo said the country was home to about 100 000 elephants against a carrying capacity of 45 000. His sentiments come after reports of another herd of jumbos sighted in Kwekwe, weeks after two elephants were put down after trampling on a man to death.
More stray elephants were spotted in Grasslands Ward 3 in Kwekwe District last week causing fear and panic among residents.
Last month, two elephants were put down in Ward 30 after trampling on a man and left another for dead. The other elephant had to be put down as it was straying towards a residential area, Chicago, which is just outside the city’s Central Business District. A few weeks after putting down the stray jumbos and scaring another herd away, another herd has since been spotted in Ward 3. Ward 3 councillor, Jones Shindi said the elephants were spotted in two groups.
“It’s true I have been notified of the elephants having been spotted in my area. I did not see them personally but those who called me told me they were drinking water from the Kwekwe River,” said Clr Shindi.
He said he had already contacted the relevant authorities.
“I reported the issue to our superiors in the district and alerted the police and Zibagwe Rural District Council about the matter,” he said.
Mr Farawo said rangers were on the ground attending to the scene.
“Soon after the rangers successfully scared those elephants in Ward 30, we then received another report that another herd had been seen in Ward 3. Our rangers are on the ground attending to the scene as we speak,” said Mr Farawo.
He said the population of elephants keeps growing making it difficult to monitor and track them.
“The problem is that the population keeps growing. And at the same time the human population keeps growing also but the size of the land remains the same. This is now leading to human wildlife conflict because as the human population grow, people tend to construct more houses and end up clashing with animals,” said Mr Farawo.
He said wild animals usually get into human communities in search of water.
“Naturally elephants will move into human territory in search of water and food. When they do so, their interaction with human beings increases and more cases of people being killed by them increase,” he said.
He said Zimparks also lacked resources to adequately deal with the problem.
“It is true, we have a challenge of resources and it becomes difficult for us to attend to every situation due to limited resources. But we try our best using the available resources to attend to every situation and on time. If there are any corporates that can come in to assist are very much welcome,” he said.
He said people should avoid provoking the elephants.-@michaelmagoron1
