Mr Hlanganani Dube (74) of Simukululwe Village under Chief
Dingani-Nelukoba was attacked at 2PM while herding cattle on May 5 in a nearby
bush. The distance from the scene of attack to the main road is unknown.
Mr Dube could neither rise on his feet nor crawl because of
the pain on the fractured leg and started pushing himself on his buttocks while
using his arms for balance until he reached the Bulawayo-Hwange main road.
Bleeding from the buttocks and palms that had been scrapped
raw by the rough terrain and in immense pain from the fractured leg that had
been stomped on by an adult elephant whose weight can go up to 6 000kg, Mr Dube
flagged down passing cars.
He said there were a number of times that he almost gave up
but the thought of his family that would be left with no one to care for them
kept him going.
Wildlife experts said Mr Dube was lucky to survive the
elephant attack and was even luckier to still be alive after being in the
predator-infested forest for eight hours while bleeding.
“Wild animals can pick up the scent of blood from a long
distance and instinctively close in on any being that is injured. It is a
miracle they did not attack him when he was in the bush for that long, in that
state,” said Mr Thabani Tshuma, a professional hunter.
Mr Dube used a torch from a phone to wave down vehicles and
after several tries, Hwange Safari Lodge general manager Mr Taylor Cameron
stopped and rescued him. The bush is home to wildlife including lions,
leopards, hyenas and wild dogs.
Mr Dube is still admitted to Mpilo Central Hospital in
Bulawayo where he only underwent surgery last Thursday, over three weeks after
his admission.
Hwange Rural District Council (HRDC) is taking care of his
medical expenses while Mbalabala Safaris and Hwange Safari Lodge have also been
assisting.
Mr Dube’s wife, Ms Fumani Shoko, thanked the local
authority and other well-wishers for assistance saying the family was going
through a difficult period.
“He is better although they delayed operating him which was
only done on Thursday. He was herding cattle in the bush when an elephant
suddenly emerged from behind him. He tried to flee but ran into another
elephant which kicked him and he fell down before it trampled on him,
fracturing his leg,” she said.
Mr Dube was fortunate because after trampling on him, the
elephant, unusually, left.Usually, a jumbo will trample all over a human being
leaving intestines protruding and the skull broken before covering the body
with tree branches.
“He could not crawl as the leg was broken while the other
was swollen. He started moving on his buttocks from around 2PM until he reached
the road at 10PM. He had a small phone and he lit its torch to attract the
attention of motorists. Two vehicles drove past without stopping and a third
one reversed after driving past for a distance. They took him to Hwange Safari
Lodge where nurses attended to him before informing Mr Ephrain Mpofu who
alerted us,” Ms Shoko said.
She bemoaned prevalence of human-wildlife conflict, saying
wild animals were freely roaming around villages in search of food. She said
her minor children were missing school as they have to tend cattle in the
absence of their father.
“We are grateful to the council for taking care of all
expenses. This is a very difficult moment for the family because he was the
breadwinner. Right now, I have no money for transport to be visiting him in
hospital.
“Our children are still young and in school hence their
education is now being affected because they are the ones herding cattle in the
absence of their and they are exposed to the same bush where he was attacked,”
she lamented.Chief Dingane-Nelukoba implored Zimparks and Forestry Commission
to compensate Mr Dube for the attack and expenses incurred by the family.
He said he will be summoning a meeting with Zimparks
officials about human-wildlife conflict once he notifies Hwange District
Development Coordinator Mr Simon Muleya.“We are not happy as a community and
the family has to be compensated by Zimparks and Forestry Commission,” he said
while bemoaning prevalence of human-wildlife conflict.
HRDC chief executive Mr Phindile Ncube said the local
authority chipped in as part of its humanitarian work.
“As a local authority we came in on humanitarian grounds.
We appreciate that Hwange is pre-dominantly infested by wild animals hence the
need for co-existence and where there is such conflict the council will always
come in to help. Dube has been operated on and the council is footing medical
expenses,” said Mr Ncube. Chronicle
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