LILLIAN CHIKANDI writes
FARMERS of Chirundu have passionately appealed to the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) to help them chase away a herd of elephants that has crossed over from Zimbabwe and are destroying their crops.
Chirundu DPNW senior ranger Mr. Shadreck Silumesi confirmed the presence of the elephants that crossed from Zimbabwe and said his office had already received a report, including of one that was wounded.
Mr. Silumesi told the Sun in a telephone interview that his office has already deployed a good number of wildlife officers to try and trace the wounded elephant and control the rest.
He has advised the affected villages to give the elephants chance to drink water when they see them at the Zambezi River and after that they will go very far away but if they disturb them and try to chase them, they will not go but instead will hide in the nearby bush and come out at night when there will be no one to chase them away.
The farmers’ representative Mr. Leonard Maswilili from Kamora village said the farmers along the Zambezi River were dismayed over the presence of elephants that were now devouring their banana plantations and vegetables.
He said some of the affected villages include Kanepala, Kanegumbo, Gota-Gota and Kamora.
He said the presence of elephants had completely disturbed the life of villagers for fear of being attacked by the beasts.
Mr. Maswilili said that farmers were irked because it was like they were now growing crops to feed the wild animals.
He said to rub salt in the sores, livestock such as goats and cattle were also being killed by lions and baboons that had invade the area.
“Government must quickly find a long lasting solution to resolve the human and wildlife conflict that has been there for a long time,
“We are tired of sharing our cash crops with animals that do not benefit us in any way”, he said.
Mr. Maswilili has also warned members of the public to beware of a wounded elephant in the heard which could easily humans on simple provocation.
