VILLAGERS in Mbembeswani and Umlala Park in Kwekwe District
are living in fear after they started spotting elephants since Wednesday
afternoon.
villagers with elepant dung
They saw the jumbos as they drank water in Mbembeswani
River whilst another herd was spotted in Poledale area.
The about seven elephants are still wandering in the area
and Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) are said to
have visited the areas. Zimparks spokesperson Mr Tinashe Farawo said they had
received a report on the matter.
“We received the report and we are aware that the animals
could have escaped from a conservancy in that area. Our personnel are on the
ground. We continue encouraging villagers to be aware of the animals and avoid
provoking them until our rangers manage to drive them back to their area,’ said
Mr Farawo
Ward 2 Councillor, Rodgers Nhari said the elephants were
still in the area.
“About seven elephants were seen in the area. They were
spotted at two different occasions. The first group was spotted as they were
drinking water in Mbembeswani River. The other group was latter spotted in
Poledale area where they were passing through,” he said.
The councillor said they had also been seen at Umlala Park
Primary School. Cllr Nhari said the animals had not caused any harm to anyone
but their presence poses danger to villagers.
“We are just warning villagers to be wary of the animals’
presence although so far they are yet to harm anyone. You never know with
animals, anything can happen. We are just warning villagers not to provoke the
animals as we wait for the way forward from rangers,” he said.
Cllr Nhari said Zimparks rangers are in the area.
“We alerted our Zibagwe Rural District Council rangers who
reacted swiftly and they in turn contacted their Zimparks counterparts. As we
speak, they are attending the scene,” said Cllr Nhari.
It is not yet clear where the elephants came from as the
nearest Sebakwe Game Park does not have elephants.
Last week, twelve stray elephants were also spotted in
Shurugwi at Ruchanyu resettlement.
Shurugwi District Development Coordinator, Mr Romeo Shangwa
said they have since alerted Zimparks.
“We have alerted Zimparks and they came on the ground. We
keep warning our villagers to desist from provoking the animals and exercise
extreme caution,” he said.
Three weeks ago, two people were trampled to death and two
others were left nursing injuries by an elephant in Gokwe. Chronicle
0 comments:
Post a Comment