Stray Elephants Cause Panic In Lupane
Zim Eye
November 18, 2021
Residents at Lupane Centre are living in fear after stray elephants, one of
them with a calf, were spotted in the area on Tuesday.
According to authorities in Lupane District, the presence of elephants is
not new in Lupane as the area is adjacent to the Hwange National Park with
vast conservancies around, but, the visit by the jumbos this time of the
year is not common.
Rangers from Kusile Rural District Council (KRDC)’s Communal Areas
Management Programme for Indigenous Resources (Campfire) quickly mobilised
and hunted down the elephants following reports that a herd of three
including a calf had been spotted along the Victoria Falls highway near
Mabhikwa High School while another with a calf had been spotted in
Ndengwende village near Lupane Police Camp.
Rangers shot dead a bull at Madojwa village a few kilometres from Lupane
centre Wednesday.
The ones that were spotted near Mabhikwa High School at the layby
reportedly moved past the Grain Marketing Board Lupane depot and
residential areas.
KRDC acting chief executive Mr Wellington Mthembo yesterday said one bull
had been shot down. He added:
People in Lupane have co-existed with elephants for a long time. There are
indigenous forests that are habitat to elephants so they always come out.
The only issue now is when they come closer to the community and the
frequency which is getting higher. Usually, they come during the cropping
season.
Incidents of wildlife especially elephants roaming around human settlements
have become common in areas near national parks.
https://www.zimeye.net/2021/11/18/stray-elephants-cause-panic-in-lupane/