A 10-year-old girl was attacked and injured by a lone buffalo at Foliot Farm in Hurungwe over the weekend.
The victim, a student at Moy Primary School, is recovering at Karoi District Hospital.
Her mother, Sarah Antonio, told <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/local-news/article/200037237/lone-buffalo-gores-hurungwe-girl-10">NewsDay</a> that the incident occurred while her daughter was herding cattle with her siblings. Said Antonio:
<blockquote>
On Saturday, they left for cattle herding near our plot. There were four and she was attacked by the lone bull. She fell down where it trampled her. She narrowly escaped death. She was injured on her left ribs and cheek.
</blockquote>
She said the buffalo later targeted the victim’s older brother when he tried to intervene. Said Antonio:
<blockquote>
He used logs to chase the buffalo away and it then left her and tried to chase after him. He ran away and injured his ankle in the process.
The buffalo has been around for some time now and it’s a security threat to the community.
</blockquote>
Tinashe Farawo, spokesperson for ZimParks, told NewsDay that rangers have been dispatched to track down the buffalo. He said:
<blockquote>
I can confirm that a ten-year-old girl was gored by a buffalo. She was injured and our reaction teams are on the ground tracking down the problem animal with the view of eliminating it. They are also making assessments on how the bull attacked the girl.
</blockquote>
Farawo expressed concern over the increase in human-wildlife conflict reports, saying that these attacks have caused fatalities and serious injuries.

Pindula News

A 10-year-old girl was attacked by a buffalo while herding cattle with her siblings in Hurungwe. She was injured on her left ribs and cheek. Her brother tried to intervene and was also injured. The buffalo has been a security threat to the community, and rangers are tracking it down to eliminate the problem animal. The increase in human-wildlife conflicts is a concern, as these attacks have caused deaths and serious injuries. The girl is recovering in the hospital, and efforts are being made to ensure the safety of the community.

10-Year-Old Girl Attacked By Buffalo In Hurungwe

Prominent conservationist, John Digby Bristow, was killed by a wounded buffalo he was trying to nurse on Wednesday.
Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZIMPARKS) spokesperson Tinashe Farawo confirmed the tragic incident on Friday. He posted on X:
<blockquote>
It is with great sadness that a 65 year old Safari Operator John Briston was gored to death by a wounded buffalo. He was following the wounded buffalo with a view of removing a snare on its leg.
</blockquote>
Bristow’s wife Vannesa Bristow, told the <a href="https://newsday.co.zw/southerneye/local/article/200021273/beitbridge-conservationist-killed-by-buffalo">Southern Eye</a> that the now-deceased was gored by the buffalo he was taking care of at a rented property at Mateke Hills in the Bubi area of Mwenezi district, 90km north of Beitbridge. She said:
<blockquote>
We arrived at 18:30 hours and he went straight to where the buffalo was but it charged at him. He tried to shoot it but missed and it took him down.
It happened so fast we were 30 metres from him and the injured animal pinned him down and kept pounding him.
He tried to crawl out of its grip but a lot of damage had been done. He succumbed to the injuries some minutes later when we took him to safety.
</blockquote>
Bristow was famed for his contribution to the establishment of the Mapungubwe Transfrontier Park shared among Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa.
Bristow also contributed to the end of white settler minority rule in Zimbabwe by taking care of young people leaving the country for Botswana to join the armed struggle.
He was a friend of the late former Vice President of Zimbabwe, Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo whom he hosted numerous times at his Sentinel Ranch 120km west of Beitbridge.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Renowned Beitbridge Conservationist Killed By Wounded Buffalo

Stray buffaloes that were spotted in Buhera District on 13 March attacked and seriously injured a woman from Zambakwe Village in Chief Budzi’s area in neighbouring Bikita District the following day.
Chief Budzi confirmed the incident to <a href="https://masvingomirror.com/stray-buffaloes-seriously-injure-bikita-woman/">The Mirror</a>, saying the woman was attacked 15km deep into Bikita villages.
The victim, Monica Mukamba (50), was attacked by a buffalo at around 10 AM while washing plates next to her hut. She reportedly sustained a broken rib in the attack. Chief Budzi said:
<blockquote>
The stray buffaloes are 15km deep into the villages from Save Conservancy. We are afraid that they are going to attack more people if the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management (Zimparks) doesn’t immediately locate them and take them back to the conservancy.
</blockquote>
Mukamba’s neighbour, Zebron Gumireshe, said Zimparks was informed immediately after the attack but rangers only arrived at 5 PM.
Mukamba was taken to Dewure Clinic where she was referred to Birchenough Bridge Hospital.
More: <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Bikita Woman Attacked, Seriously Injured By Stray Buffaloes

Seventy (70) people were killed by wild animals, especially by elephants across the country this year as cases of human-wildlife conflicts rise.
Speaking in an interview with VicFallsLive, Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) spokesperson Tinashe Farawo said most of the cases of human-wildlife conflicts were recorded in parts of Matabeleland North, Mashonaland Central and Masvingo. Said Farawo:
<blockquote>
As we come towards the end of the year, we feel it is important to update you about the human-wildlife conflicts that have happened since the beginning of the year.
We have lost 70 lives to different animals, but the majority of the cases were involving elephants and crocodiles ad most of the districts which were affected are Binga in Matabeleland North, Mashonaland West in Kariba, Masvingo areas like Bikita and Mashonaland Central in Mbire and Muzarabani.
But we ask, why is it we are having this kind of increase because this year we received close to 2 000 distress calls from these communities either about lions, elephants and buffaloes and we think we are getting punished for doing what is good for our animals.
</blockquote>
Farawo revealed that the escalation of human-wildlife conflicts is caused by the growing population of both humans and animal species. He said:
<blockquote>
Our elephant, lion and other species population are growing, and our human population is also growing when our country is not expanding.
If you look at Hwange National Park compared to 50 years ago, the wildlife has expanded, and this is why we are witnessing such conflicts.
We are forced to share the resources like water because during hot seasons especially around October until now during the onset of the wet season, it means that more water bodies will be dry and that’s how the animals move around the communities in search of water and food.
</blockquote>
Just over a week ago, a wounded buffalo gored a game scout and a fish poacher to death at Mteri Dam Wildlife in Chiredzi.
In another recent incident, a Victoria Falls bartender was gored by an elephant behind the Victoria Falls police station last month as he was walking home from work at around 3A M.
<h4>More: <a href="https://vicfallslive.co.zw/index.php/2021/12/21/a-deadly-year-70-killed-by-wild-animals-across-zimbabwe-in-2021/">VicFallsLive</a></h4>

70 Killed By Wild Animals In 2021

A wounded buffalo has been put down by a professional hunter after it gored a game scout and a fish poacher to death at Mteri Dam Wildlife in Chiredzi on Saturday.
Chris Davies tracked and killed the buffalo with a single shot on Tuesday around 3 PM.
Tongaat Hulett Corporate Affairs and Communications manager Isheanesu Chinhuru confirmed the development in an interview with The Mirror. He said:
<blockquote>
The wounded Buffalo which killed a game scout and a poacher on Saturday was tracked down by Davies who is a Chiredzi based professional hunter together with his team.
</blockquote>
He said Davies and his team began tracking the buffalo on Tuesday morning after it had gored Mashava Ian Thuli (33) a fish poacher on his left leg around 5 AM.
Thuli encountered the animal as he ran away from four game scouts who were tracking the wounded beast near Mteri Dam.
He screamed after the attack and was rushed to Chiredzi District Hospital where he died upon admission.
Around 1 PM, the scouts came across the buffalo and Patson Tekedesa fired at it and missed.
The buffalo charged at Stephen Njanji (62) who was trying to climb up a tree after sensing that possible injury or death was imminent.
The buffalo attacked Njani and gored him on the stomach and he died on the spot.
<h4>More: <a href="https://masvingomirror.com/chiredzi-killer-buffalo-shot-dead/">The Mirror</a></h4>

Chiredzi Killer Buffalo Put Down

Three Indian farmers in the dry western state of Gujarat have been arrested for selling illegal alcohol after their own buffaloes got drunk.
Local police official Dilipsinh Baldev told AFP that one of the men called a local veterinarian after their buffaloes started to “act strangely and their mouths started frothing”.
The vet then inspected the water trough that the animals had been drinking from and “observed a strange smell and found the water to be coloured”.
This, it turned out, was because the men had hidden bottles of moonshine in the trough and some of them had broken, contaminating the water.
The vet then informed the police, who raided the farm on Monday and recovered 100 bottles of alcohol worth 32 000 rupees (US$400).
The three farmers were arrested.
In Gujarat, making, buying, selling or transporting alcohol is outlawed, punishable by heavy fines and even prison sentences.
<h4>More: <a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/world/drunk-indian-buffaloes-blow-cover-on-contraband-booze-3464704">Nation</a></h4>

Drunk Buffaloes Expose Hidden Illicit Beer

A Mwenezi man was on Monday last week gored to death by a buffalo he was trying to help after it had been caught in a trap.
Lovemore Shereni (43) of Muchekeni Village, Chief Mazetese, Mwenezi was in the company of his friends Takavada Mtetwa (36), Zivanai Ncube and Trust Chifuri when he was attacked by the beast.
Shereni had come closer to the trapped buffalo intending to untie it from the trap when the animal freed itself and attacked him.
Masvingo police provincial spokesperson Inspector Kudakwashe Dhewa confirmed the incident. He said:
<blockquote>On the 8th of March at around 3.50 pm, Ncube and Chifuri saw a buffalo near Mjingwe Ranch trapped and they went to Shereni’s home where he was drinking home-brewed beer together with Mtetwa.
The four men went out and found that the buffalo was still trapped. Shereni went closer to the buffalo while the other three kept their distance.
The buffalo suddenly managed to untie itself and charged towards Shereni and gored him four times and left him lying helpless.</blockquote>
Shereni’s three friends tried to assist him but he was bleeding heavily and he died on the spot.
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.sundaynews.co.zw/trapped-buffalo-gores-man-to-death/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Sunday News</a></h4>

'Good Samaritan' Gored To Death By Trapped Buffalo

A Zaka man was on Wednesday attacked and killed by a stray buffalo after he had gone to take a bath at a nearby stream.
The deceased man was identified as Ephraim Chinyere (72) from Ngwaru village under Chief Ndanga near Muchechetere Secondary School.
The incident was confirmed by Masvingo provincial police spokesperson Inspector Charity Mazula. She said:
<blockquote>We have received information about a 72-year-old man who had gone out for a bath at the river and was attacked by a buffalo
He sustained deep cuts on the ribs and on the back and could have died due to excessive bleeding.</blockquote>
Reports indicate that Zaka police attended the scene where the buffalo was running amok and breaking tree branches.
The attack took place a few days after two buffalos were allegedly spotted in the Chiroma area near Bikita district.
It could not be ascertained where the killer buffalo came from but is it suspected that it escaped either from Kyle Recreational Park or from Devure Ranch.
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.herald.co.zw/stray-buffalo-kills-man-in-zaka/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Herald</a></h4>

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