Elephants wreak havoc in Vungu

Midlands Correspondent
April 9, 2010



A HERD of elephants from Hwange National Park and Debshan Sanctuary is wreaking havoc in the Vungu area of Gweru District where the jumbos are destroying crops.
There are reports that crops in some parts of the affected area have been declared a write-off after the damage caused by the elephants.
Villagers in the affected areas of Ruby and Wooden along the Vungu River are reportedly living in fear and most have deserted their fields, which have been invaded by a herd of close to 30 elephants.
The brave were, however, making dangerous attempts to drive away the elephants.
A villager, Mr Sindiso Ncube, yesterday said the villagers were now living in fear because of the presence of the jumbos that were destroying their crops. “We are living in fear that one day we could be trampled to death in an effort to save our crops. We have tried to scare them (elephants) away but the number has now grown to almost 30, which is dangerous.
“We have since reported this (the elephant invasion) to the authorities who have promised to do something,” said Mr Ncube.
Vungu Rural District Council chief executive officer Mr Wellington Ngulube yesterday confirmed receiving a report.
A report has been made to us and just yesterday I met a professional hunter contracted to the council on the issue. We could either shoot in the air to scare them away or shoot down the bull elephant in our effort to drive them away,” said Mr Ngulubane.
In the past there have been reports of elephants straying from the Debshan Sanctuary with some motorists spotting them along the Gweru-Bulawayo road near Shangani River.

time for some bargain basement PAC hunts for sure!

Oh,Gee! Wait a minute. If this story had ever appeared in the US media the story line would go like this - " African elephants upset by gunfire nearby in what was to be their "preserve" moved into farm areas nearby in search of food and a few isolated local farmers claim they are destroying corn crops. Elephants are really not that eager to eat corn (they usually eat in the wild)except in those rare instances where they choose to eat corn because they weigh 8 tons and move where they want to move. {TV interview with a local farmer - " No, I perfectly understand why the elephants are behaving this way. Those hunters with guns are responsible and we must end hunting so that elephants can live peaceably as they always have"}

Vungu District Council shoots stray bull elephant

Midlands Correspondent



VUNGU Rural District Council through a safari operator contracted to manage the conservancy, yesterday moved in and shot one bull elephant in Woodend in a bid to drive away a herd of elephants from Hwange National Park and Debsham Sanctuary that has been wreaking havoc in the area.
The jumbos have been destroying crops and there are reports that crops in some parts of the affected area have been declared a write-off after the damage caused by the elephants.
There were reports that the elephants had trampled some villagers to death but officials have dismissed this as false.
A professional hunter brought in by the safari operator shot the bull elephant yesterday afternoon.
The herd is now expected to move away from the area within 30 to 60 days thereby allowing villagers to harvest their crops. The Rural District Council will compensate villagers whose crops were destroyed.
As a trophy, the shot bull can fetch up to US$10 000, which will be channelled towards community projects.
Vungu Rural District Council chief executive officer Mr Wellington Ngulube yesterday confirmed a bull elephant had been killed.
“We gunned down one bull elephant from the herd that was wreaking havoc in the Woodend area this afternoon and tomorrow we will move to Hampton Range,” he said.
“We are going to organise a cold room in town to store the meat, which will be used for Independence celebrations. The meat will be distributed to Somabhula, Maboleni in Lower Gweru, Muchakata in Chiwundura and Meeting House along Matobo road.”
The affected areas lie between the Shangani, Vungu and Ntiyabezi Rivers and the Bulawayo road and include Woodend, Hampton Range, Ruby, Slon, Torvay Block, Esatline and Meadows.
In the past there have been reports of elephants straying from the Debsham Sanctuary with some motorists spotting them along the Gweru-Bulawayo road near Shangani River.

Another bull elephant shot in Vungu

By Noel Munzabwa

From The Chronicle
April 20, 2010



A second bull elephant was gunned down in Vungu’s Torvay Block early on Sunday, bringing to two the number of elephants shot in a week as authorities moved in to control the problem animals that have wreaked havoc in the area.
The first bull elephant was shot by a professional hunter brought into the Woodend farming area last week, driving a herd of close to 30 away.
After reports were made at the weekend that another herd of about a hundred had been spotted on a field in Torvay Block, the professional hunter was called in and shot the jumbo on the field in the early hours on Sunday.
Vungu Rural District Council chief executive officer Wellington Ngulube confirmed the shooting on Sunday.
“I can confirm the second bull elephant was gunned down at around 1.30am on Sunday on a field at Torvay Block, bringing to two the number of jumbos shot down in the last week. This time the herd of elephants numbered around 100.
“The jumbo is our second trophy which could fetch the community, through Campfire, some revenue. We will move in to some areas where there have been reports but all I can say is this is the biggest ever invasion in years,” said Mr Ngulube.
A herd of elephants from Hwange National Park and Debsham Sanctuary has been wreaking havoc in the area with villagers living in fear, but no casualties have been recorded.
Vast areas of crops have been destroyed and there are reports that crops in some parts of the affected area have been declared a write-off after the damage caused by the elephants.
The affected villagers could be compensated once Agritex undertakes a cost assessment of the loss.
The affected areas lie between the Shangani, Vungu and Ntiyabezi rivers and the Gweru-Bulawayo Road and include Woodend, Hampton Range, Ruby, Slon, Torvay Block, Eastline and Meadows.
Stray elephants from the Debsham Sanctuary have been spotted along the Gweru-Bulawayo Road near Shangani River.