The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority on Wednesday, 09 October killed a problem elephant that had been terrorising communities and destroying mango fruits in Hwange.
Ingagula councillor Brian Chikumbo confirmed the shooting of the elephant to VicFallsLive. He said:
We have been having some human-wildlife conflicts of late, whereby jumbos, more than four herds, have been coming into the community around 7 pm every day and even inside people’s houses. It had become unbearable, and very soon we could have recorded a fatality.
We just want a lasting solution because we fear that one day we might have a fatality as the numbers and teams are increasing every day.
Farai Maguwu, the founding Director of the Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG), expressed deep concern over the “senseless” killing of elephants, arguing that there is an urgent need to conserve biodiversity. Said Maguwu:
If [the government] really cared about conservation and biodiversity they would take action against rampant destructive mining taking place everywhere in Zimbabwe.
To have the same officials suddenly showing concern for conservation by killing elephants is ridiculous. Some of us are not fools.
According to Zimparks, crocodiles are the number one killer in Zimbabwe followed by elephants. Why are we not seeing the Zimbabwe government going after crocodiles if it is concerned about people? Stop this criminal activity.
Human-wildlife conflict is a major issue in Zimbabwe, particularly in areas close to national parks. This conflict often involves elephants, which can cause substantial damage to crops and property, and even pose a threat to human lives.
The Hwange National Park, for example, has seen increasing incidents of elephants straying into nearby villages, leading to crop destruction and sometimes fatal encounters.
More: Pindula News
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