Home Crime & Courts Nine stray elephants spotted in Shurugwi

Nine stray elephants spotted in Shurugwi

by commuadmin

Tendai Gumbo

SHURUGWI villagers at Ruchanyu Resettlement recently got unusual visitors as nine elephants were spotted walking eastward from the southwestern direction.

The elephants that did not however intercept with villagers were spotted around 1400hrs were reported to police by an informant, Richard Mavhoro over the fear of human-wildlife conflict that has often been fatal in several parts of Zimbabwe.

Information obtained by CommuTalk reveals that police notified the National Parks and Wildlife Management and the scene was attended by Paradzanai Masvosvere in the company of a professional hunter.

“Upon arrival at the scene, the team shot and killed one elephant and others ran away due to the gunshot. As per their procedure, the parks dehorned the elephant and also took the skin. The meat was shared among villagers,” CommuTalk is informed.

Masvosvere told the police that the elephants might have come from Shangani.

“…the elephants might have come from Shangani. The National Parks and Wildlife team is still patrolling the area,” reads part of a police report in possession of this publication.

The elephants did not injure or kill anyone, neither did they destroy any property.

Villagers around the area were also warned against poaching as they risk arrests and expose their lives to dangerous animals. They were therefore urged to immediately report such incidences to Police or National Parks and Wildlife Management for further management.

According to statistics given by the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) in December 2020, at least 60 people have been killed while 50 others were injured, some permanently due to a deadly conflict between a growing population and wildlife.

This marked a 58% increase in such cases from 38 people who were killed in 2019.

The conflict between people and wildlife is becoming one of the biggest conservation challenges in Zimbabwe.

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