Four Namibians killed by elephants

September 11 2007 at 08:33PM

Windhoek - Namibia's environment and tourism minister Willem Konjore called Tuesday on Namibians to exercise greater care in regions where elephants abound following the death of four people in the past six weeks in run-ins with the giant animals.

People in the Caprivi and Kavango regions in the north-east Erongo and Kunene in the west and north-west should to more careful in the wild and avoid walking around at night, Konjore in a press release sent to international media Tuesday.

Both locals and tourists should also avoid disturbing elephants in any way, the minister said.

Since the beginning of the year ten so-called problem elephants have had to be killed in Erongo and the eastern Otjozondjupa regions.


After receiving several complaints about damage caused by elephants to property the ministry has begun looking at ways to reduce the conflict between people and wildlife.

A higher hunting quota for "problem" elephants and crocodiles roaming outside national parks and conservancies has been set for 2007 and 2008 in the Caprivi and Kavango regions, which have the highest concentration of elephants.

"Citizens of this country should remember that we live in a country with many wild animals and the damage to grazing, crops, water installations, etc, is thus an almost daily occurrence," the minister remonstrated.

They should be mindful, however, that the benefits of abundant wildlife for the tourism industry - one of the country's key foreign exchange earners - outweighed the damage to property and threat to people, he said.

Namibia's elephant population fluctuates because elephants in the north-eastern Caprivi Strip roam across the border into and from neighbouring countries, particularly Botswana.

Environment officials estimate at over 20 000 the number of elephants in the Caprivi and at around 3 000 in the Kavango region. - Sapa-DPA