Elephants have been enforcing curfews in a number of residential areas, putting mine workers and regular citizens at danger of att@cks. Hwange villagers have urged authorities to solve this growing human-wildlife conflict.
An elephant stomped a woman who was gathering firewood with other women in a nearby woods earlier this year, critically inj_ring her.
Three months after the event, the woman remains in the hospital at Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo.
According to locals who spoke to Chronicle, they live in constant terror of being crushed to de@th by the jumbos, which are now frequently seen close to residential areas.
Elephants now often visit Lusumbami, Makwika, Ingagula, Lower Colliery, and the Airport region, destroying perimeter fences and breaking into people’s homes in pursuit of the mango fruit, which is currently in season.
These locations are the most affected.
As a result of the battle, which has seen the jumbos infiltrating properties in search of food and water, Hwange Colliery Company and Zimparks rangers k!lled six elephants in Makwika, Railways, and Ingagula last month alone.
Elephants can be seen every day in Lusumbami village and along the railway, while three shooting incidents have been reported in Ingagula.
As a result, there has been damage to vehicles, fences, electricity lines, and water storage tanks.
“We are living in fear because they have literally imposed curfews, making it dangerous to be on the streets after 6 p.m. because elephants will now be roaming the neighborhood.”
