Jumbos force school closed - by Irene Hoaës

From The New Era

WINDHOEK – A herd of elephants that is roaming near villages in the Omusati and Kunene regions has caused the temporary closure of a rural school.

A group of 12 to 15 elephants with calves has since last week Thursday taken up residence near Hiaukambi Primary School at Omuhama village in Omusati Region. The school is situated about 128 kilometres from Kamanjab.

The elephants that normally pass along a specific route here have now wandered into school premises. They are reportedly using people’s shades or shelters for their comfort, thus causing fear among the people, especially the learners.

“The children were really scared when the elephant herd arrived last Thursday night. They normally pass through the area but never stay there permanently. We had to lock the children in their block,” Israel Kamatuka, the school’s principal told New Era, on Monday.

The school decided to get permission to close until a solution has been found and the elephants chased away.

The Education Director in the Omusati Region, Esther Nghipondoka, confirmed that she had received a request from the school authorities to close the school for several days.

The school that was closed on Friday, a day after the elephants decided to camp in the area, will only open on Monday, October 4, 2009.

Two-hundred-and-fifty seven children are accommodated at the school hostel.

Other neighbouring villages such as Okatjihuru, Ekango, Okandjai in the Kunene and Okomizema in the Kunene Region face similar problems from elephants.

According to Kamatuka, human shelters and homes in some of the villages have been damaged.

Officials from the environment and tourism ministry in Opuwo have been notified and are trying to scare away the elephants, although they are not that successful as yet.

Kamatuka, however, says the nature conservation officials do not always come on time when they are called.

Meanwhile, the Director of Parks and Wildlife Management, Ben Beytel, said the Chief Control Warden of the North-west region was assigned to go and make an assessment of the situation and report back to the ministry.

According to Beytel, he has been informed that there is an open water point nearby the school or the village, yet the elephants wander off towards people. This, he does not understand.

“Children have to walk to school and people are moving around with their donkey carts, and they might meet with the elephants on their way, which could be dangerous,” Beytel said.

According to the information available to the director, at the moment, the group is a small breeding herd with calves and three bulls of which one is causing problems.

He said elephants with small calves are normally dangerous.

Beytel has not yet received any feedback from the chief control warden who is investigating the matter and could thus not say much about the situation.