The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) has put down an elephant that was destroying crops and fruit trees in the Mkhosana and Mfelandawonye suburbs of Victoria Falls.
Over the weekend, Zimparks rangers reacted to a distress call by the community and put down the lone elephant.
A resident told ZBC News that the elephant was destroying gardens, fields, orchards and perimeter fences. Said the resident:
We are grateful to Zimparks for listening to our plight and the patrols they are making in our areas. Let them continue and increase such.
We are very happy, the elephant was a real problem and it was destroying our fruit trees, mangoes and paw paws and others.
We had resorted to putting elephant dung on our crops to scare them away.
A commentator on wildlife issues Bulisani Mathe gave an insight into circumstances that warrant an animal to be put down. Mathe said:
It is not in the best interest of conservationists to put down wild animals, but there are times when it has to happen. When a wild animal becomes a threat to human life and property and when it’s injured beyond recovery through human intervention such as snares, it has to be put down before it kills people or damages more property.
Cases of human-wildlife conflict have been on the rise in Zimbabwe over the past few years as animals frequent human settlements in search of food and water.
In 2022, about four people were trampled to death by elephants in Victoria Falls.
Over the years, Zimbabwe’s elephant population has ballooned to around 85 000, surpassing the country’s carrying capacity of 45 000. | ZBC News