Elephant menace grips Vic Falls
Ratidzai Matumbura
VICTORIA FALLS – Elephants have become an existential threat to lives and livelihoods in Victoria Falls as they visit residential areas in the city, now and again leaving a trail of destruction in their wake.
Although jumbo attacks are quite rare in the city, the devastation they cause is often too much for victims to bear. Properties, vegetation and in worst-case scenarios, lives are lost during the occasional attacks.
Last year, a mentally ill homeless man was trampled and gored to death by an elephant near the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) train station.
Community voices have reached a crescendo in calling for decisive action from the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks), to deal with the problem as the elephants run amok, posing a great threat to lives and property.
Speaking to this publication, Mr Sweeter Muzamba stressed the need for authorities to take immediate action to nip human and wildlife conflict in the bud. He painstakingly related how his treasured car was vandalized by daring stray elephants. To add insult to injury, Muzamba was not compensated for the loss.
“Those responsible must do something about this. My car was damaged by some elephants. I was not compensated for this loss. This therefore, is an added expense to me. How am I supposed to have my vehicle repaired in this Covid-19 era that has further impoverished most people? This elephant menace must be dealt with once and for all before worse things happen,” he said.
Another resident, Senzeni Nyathi, cited overpopulation of elephants as the cause of human and wildlife conflict. Nyathi had her own tale to tell about the elephants that have become a common sight in the residential areas of Chinotimba and Mkhosana.
“We have too many elephants roaming around because of their uncontrolled increasing population. They are forced to visit our residences in search of food. In my case, they raided my garden and ate everything which was meant for both family consumption and selling. The vegetables in my garden had become the only source of income since Covid-19 struck and resulted in the loss of my job,” said Nyathi.
Allan Dube implored Zimparks to take measures aimed at reducing unwanted visits by animals.
“My son was almost killed by a marauding elephant. As residents, we will end up taking matters into our hands and kill the elephants in the process of trying to defend ourselves. Zimparks should take measures to reduce elephant visits in our residential areas. Taking such measures may help in saving lives,” opined Dube.
Attempts to get a comment from Zimparks were futile as messages sent to them had not been replied at the time of publishing.
According to Mr Norman Mlilo, residents have resorted to several attempts to keep the elephants at bay. He said, “We beat drums, apply dung in our gardens and plant chilli trees, in a bid to scare away the elephants,” he said.
Authorities in Zimbabwe estimate that the elephant population exceeds 100, 000. However, the carrying capacity is thought to be 45,000. This discrepancy has resulted in authorities mulling population control in the form of culling the head, use of elephant contraceptives and selling hunting rights.
