A 61-YEAR-OLD Chipinge man was trampled to death by stray elephants along the Save River in the Chibuwe-Murovhoti area on Tuesday.
BY VANESSA GONYE
Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority spokesperson Tinashe Farawo confirmed the incident yesterday.
“We received a report that two men were attacked by elephants while herding cattle along the Save River. One escaped, leaving the old man behind — who then died as a result of the attack. We are still investigating the matter,” he said.
Farawo said the growing elephant population in the Chipinge-Masvingo area was to blame for the increasing cases of human-wildlife conflicts.
“There is an indication of a ballooning of elephants from the usual 5 000 to 13 000 where the carrying capacity for the area is pegged at 5 000 elephants. It means the elephants can freely make their way to communities, and we end up having this problem because the elephant population is more than double the carrying capacity, thereby endangering human lives,” he said.
