By Patience Gondo
THE human-elephant conflict has escalated in Beitbridge West, with villagers reporting increased crop destruction by the jumbos in the drought-prone district.
While perennially Beitbridge has been known for remaining on the Government food aid list, this year’s story was different following adequate rains and bumper harvests were all over.
Even elephants saw it.
The issue was raised during a meeting attended by traditional leaders and rural district councillors on Friday.
Community leaders said the wildlife incursions are threatening already fragile harvests.
Vho Siyoka told the meeting that villagers are losing crops and any intervention by the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority were needed.
“Why do parks only kill the elephants after they have already destroyed people’s yields?” he asked.
Siyoka also questioned where the elephants are coming from.
Responding to the concerns, Bongani Dube senior ranger from the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority said communities should be equipped with knowledge to co-exist with wildlife.
“We suggest doing wildlife training so that people can be able to live in harmony with these elephants,” he said.
Dube said the elephants are moving along long-established wildlife corridors that existed before human settlement.
“These are roads the elephants have been using for years. Elephants do not forget the roads they walked,” he said.
Beitbridge Rural District Council chief executive officer Kilibone Mbedzi said communities could also use chilli boom deterrents to repel elephants from fields before seeking external help.
Councilor chairman Oscar Chiromo said the killing of elephants should be avoided because it results in the loss of a valuable wildlife resource.
He said proper wildlife management could allow communities to benefit economically from elephants.
Beitbridge lies in one of Zimbabwe’s driest agro-ecological regions where rainfall is low and crop yields are already limited.
Wildlife experts say human settlement along wildlife corridors has increased encounters between communities and elephants, resulting in frequent crop raids in rural areas.