Botswana: Jumbos Pose Big Threat to Man, Property


Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone)

April 5, 2007
Posted to the web April 9, 2007

Onalenna Modikwa


While elephants are pivotal to Botswana's tourism sector as an engine of economic growth, the jumbos have become a serious menace to human life and property.

Deaths arising from elephant attacks have become common over the years.


Recently, a man of Zimbabwean origin was trampled to death around the Mmadinare lands. In another incident also in the same location, an old man returning from the fields was killed after a bull elephant chased and trampled him to death.

In the Bobirwa region around the Mashatu Game Reserves, elephants there have not stopped troubling people though death incidents may occur once or twice a year. Nelly Mosena from Mathathane village was attacked way back in 1992 and is currently on crutches. She lost her job and became a destitute. During an interview that Mmegi conducted with her in 2005, Mosena narrated that she and a group of her friends were walking to Ntswelemoriti when a bull elephant charged from the bush and chased them. She said as they scattered to escape she tripped and fell and the jumbo attacked her. The rest arrived safely. She said after the animal left her she dragged herself towards the road where she was discovered by a passer-by. Mosena indicated that time that she did not receive any compensation from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks.

In another incident still in Mashatu, an elephant charged at a group of women walking home from the fields killing one of them . According to the police then, the incident took place at Koto la Motho Game farm. The woman, who was carrying her baby on the back, could not outrun the animal. She reportedly dropped the child in a bid to save her own life but in vain as the rogue elephant caught up with her and killed her. The baby was recovered alive later.

Responding to a Mmegi questionnaire, Bobirwa senior wildlife officer Obert Gwapela said according to the department's aerial surveys, it is estimated that there is a population of around 1,038 elephants in and around the Northern Tuli Game ranches. The population is in the Mashatu and Tuli Block areas.

He said the elephant population fluctuates. Immigration and emigration was common, but become more evident in Mmadinare where elephants straddle the Botswana/Zimbabwe borders.

Gwapela indicated that food, water and habitat determine the elephants' movements. He noted that elephants are more troublesome during harvest and dry seasons at water points, especially at night. "Usually during day time, elephants are resting or hiding from too much human movement. They also graze at night when there is less movement."

Gwapela said it was often easier for farmers to tell if animals invading their fields were elephants by physically sighting the animal, animal spoors, animal dung and the extent of damage.

Looking at the behaviour of elephants, Gwapela said they usually charge and launch attacks when provoked or injured. "The proximity of approaching the animal has a social distance side effect."

He said they have experienced two incidents of human attacks at Sasau cattle post and Robelela settlement in Mmadinare area and two incidents each at Mashatu Game Reserve and Koto la Moto Game Farm in Bobirwa.

Gwapela stated that there is no compensation in the case of death but there is compensation for damages to crops and fruit trees. For arable commercial crops the farmer is paid P100 per hectare, P250 per hectare for arable subsistence crops, P9,000 for a horticultural commercial hectare and P4, 500 for horticultural non-commercial hectare.

There had previously been suggestions of culling the jumbos in the area and Gwapela said they are still awaiting a review of the Elephant Management Plan Guidance. He however said currently there are increased hunting quotas for affected local communities.

"Increased hunting quota for the utilisation of the elephants play a pivotal role, serves as a form of reducing the species in the area over time. Mmadinare Development Community Trust was also allocated a hunting quota to hunt elephants in the area."

He said over population of elephants can impact negatively on conservation biodiversity, destroy habitat of small game animals and also increase human-elephant conflict.

Botswana: Elephants - A Living Nightmare


Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone)

April 5, 2007
Posted to the web April 9, 2007


As Botswana grapples with finalising its Elephant Management Plan within the next few months, Mmegi staffer KETO SEGWAI looks at the issues involved

What started as a well thought-out elephant management strategy in the 1980s has boomeranged into a potentially environmental and socio-economic implosion.


The elephant question has increasingly turned out to be the elephant burden for Botswana. The elephant species has literally become a beast of burden itself. In fact, for those communities that live side by side with the over-abundant elephant population, it has simply become a living nightmare. And our external cooperating conservation partners seem not to see the urgency in finding a lasting solution to the problem, though they acknowledge its existence.

In a broad position statement, on elephant management in southern Africa early this year, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) could have been aptly describing Botswana's unique situation.

"Whereas in central and west Africa elephants remain very threatened, in southern Africa investment in conservation over many years had led to an increase in numbers.

"In some cases, elephants are becoming so abundant that they are causing problems such as the destruction of habitat from overgrazing and damage to water sources. This can degrade the environment, reducing the food and water available for the elephants themselves as well as destroying the habitat of other wildlife species - some of which are endangered. High elephant densities can also lead to worse human-elephant conflict, with elephants raiding farmers' fields and destroying village infrastructure and livelihoods, and even peoples lives."

Southern Africa has the largest herd of the African elephant, be they forest or savannah elephants, which is estimated at more than 300, 000. The high concentrations are found in Angola, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Of the six countries, Botswana accounts for slightly more than 50 percent. Elephants are not considered an endangered species in Botswana, and have long been listed under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which allows the country to trade in ivory. CITES instituted a near universal ban on trade in ivory by placing the African elephant on its most critically endangered list Appendix I in 1989.

Dr Cyril Taolo, assistant director for research with the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) confirmed that Botswana has the largest elephant population in the world. The current estimate for elephants in Botswana stands at 155, 000.

The highest concentration of this figure is found in northern Botswana (Chobe and Ngamiland), while a small number of about 1, 038 elephants are in the Bobirwa region, he added. Botswana is further burdened with 54 tonnes of ivory at the Central Ivory Storeroom, which continues to attract related storage costs.

And this population figure is not stagnant. Neither is the elephant range contracting. Taolo told Mmegi that Botswana's elephant population is growing at a rate of five percent per annum. Taolo further acknowledges that over-abundant elephants "have impacts on their environment including on biodiversity where they concentrate in large numbers."

In a 2003 study, Dr Michael Chase noted that "the elephant range in northern Botswana has extended south and west by 24 percent over the last 10 years." Obviously this expansion encroaches

Population increases apparently put greater strains on the interactions of elephants with vegetation and human beings. According to the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, 1, 204 cases of human-elephant conflict were reported in the 2005/2006 period.

"The degree of conflict varies spatially and temporally according to environmental conditions. Most conflicts occur when there are growing crops in field or when elephants target water installations when natural ephemeral water bodies dry up," explained Taolo.

Researchers Fritz Vollrath and Ian Douglas-Hamilton noted that "the average adult elephant consumes around 110 tonnes of forage annually, with a small (but increasing and politically highly significant) amount raided from the fields of farmers. This conflict needs to be diminished if elephants are to retain adequate range and political support for their existence."

Just two weeks ago, North West District councillors roundly blamed elephants for the rising destitution in the Ngamiland and Chobe regions due to the destruction of crops, water reservoirs supplying villages and other infrastructure by elephants.

Councillor Nepa Dithende of Etsha 6 reportedly rapped DWNP for reneging on the idea of selling off elephants to interested countries. "What has kept the department from keeping their word. These beasts roam the communal lands as if the place is now another national park. People live in fear. They (elephants) destroy crops and vegetation and the department keeps on assuring us they'll address the situation - but to no sound results. We need explanation as to why the authorities to the terrorising effects of these beasts."

The DWNP has come up with some innovative measures to mitigate these impacts. For instance, the department early this year reported that it has started a pilot project in Bobirwa that uses a Tabasco chilli pepper. They are planting the crop at a one-hectare plot at Motloutse River whose seeds will be distributed to farmers during demonstrations. The chilli pepper method involves a brick made from elephants or cow dung that is mixed with crushed chilli. The ignited brick is placed around the farmer's field to produce foul-smelling smoke that scares away intruding elephants.

Taolo said they are looking at extending the exercise to the northern region. The chilli pepper method is considered cheaper in comparison to other problem animal control methods such as the erection of the electric fence and shooting to scare away animals.

Vollrath and Douglas-Hamilton also researched the use of the aggressive African bees (dinotshe). They are convinced the bee method can be "immediate, cheap in capital outlay, self-supporting once set-up, and strongly reinforcing in the raiders - sending the message of a considerable local danger without actually being life threatening." There is a reported incident of a bee swarm chasing elephants over long distances of about three to five kilometres from their hive. The researchers therefore argue that bees can be used profitably to protect farming smallholdings.

"Using bees as a selective deterrent would more than pay for itself through sales of honey. It would also be using a means that is already an integral part of the natural environment."

In addition to these mitigating measures, the department continues to pay compensation for crops that had been destroyed by elephants, which include arable, horticultural and fruit trees. Ironically, however, government does not pay compensation in the case of death.


It is against this background that the on going crafting of Botswana's elephant management plan is being formulated. Taolo maintained, "there is urgency because the elephant population continues to grow and the range is expanding. We are reviewing the 1991 management plan. There is a need to carry out extensive consultations in the next few months."

As the case may be, there are numerous elephant management models that include culling, contraception, cropping, translocation, creating trans-border corridors and others.

Trans-boundary corridors: This model appears to be ideal. This is confirmed by the study carried by Dr. Case, which was commissioned by Conservation International's

Sounds like they need to harvest almost 8000 elephant a year just to keep a constant population
Maybe they need to have an elephant sale ie "Here is your safari, sir and would you like to supersize it by adding a free elephant?"

Count me in!!!Triple Supersize!