Roving elephants wreak havoc in Victoria Falls

Victoria Falls Reporter
June 25, 2010



DOZENS of elephants have invaded Victoria Falls town where they are destroying gardens and pre-cast walls.
In separate interviews residents said previously, there used to be a certain time and period when the gentle giant would just roam the streets and leave.
However, this generation of the jumbos seemed intent on settling in the resort town as evidenced by its continued presence.
Early this year, the elephants were concentrated in areas such as Mkhosana Township and the low-density area popularly known as emayadini, but now they are everywhere.
One of the residents whose orchard was destroyed by the elephants is the Agritex officer for Hwange district, Mr Kurwakunesu Mangwiro.
Mr Mangwiro said a group of four elephants and a calf were now frequenting his home.
“I am one of the residents who are living in fear of these animals. They are gentle giants that I appreciate but a wild animal remains a wild animal and that is why residents are concerned about their safety,” he said.
Mr Mangwiro said the residents’ lives would be in danger as long as the elephants continued to roam around the streets of Victoria Falls.
Mrs Matha Sithole from Jambezi said the elephants were causing havoc in her village.
“I remember the elephants destroying a granary at my neighbour’s homestead in a bid to access watermelons and other food that was being kept inside,” she said.
As a result, residents and villagers have been forced to remove orchards from their yards in the hope of keeping the elephants away.
At night, residents are involved in running battles with the elephants to chase them away and as a result, fires, horns, and drum beating are now a common feature.
According to parks officials, they tried to chase the elephants away but they always returned.
“We have deployed teams in the surrounding areas to chase them away. We have fired bullets in the air but they are coming back. The problem is that they are just too many in the park,” said a parks official.
The elephant population in the country now stands at about 100 000.
This is despite the fact that the country’s holding capacity is about 45 000.

I would imagine they're drinking Scud again