A herd of elephants that moved between communities for six months killed one person and devastated several crops in areas of Sofala province in central Mozambique, an official source told Luse this Wednesday.
“These elephants have been here in this area for about six months now. Over the past two weeks, elephants killed a man in the town of Candeya while he was trying to scare the animals away from an agricultural field,” said Miguel Chatala, chief of the town of Chatala.
According to authorities, who do not yet know the number of elephants, the animals left Gorongosa National Park (GNP) and moved almost 200 kilometers to the Chemba region, attracted by sugarcane plantations in the region.
At least 15,000 families have already been affected in Chemba and Kaya areas, and several agricultural fields and precariously built houses have also been destroyed, the chief said, adding that the animals left PNG in January and took refuge in the forest near the community.
“A lot of cultural property has been destroyed so far, I can’t count it here in numbers,” said the person in charge, adding that the animals also caused several injuries.
Gorongosa National Park Administrator Pedro Muagura said a team of park rangers and technicians had already been dispatched to monitor the elephant herd, saying they could not be returned to the reserve in the first phase as they were “very remote”.
“Personally, I am concerned, but we have already sent a team to the site. Technicians will look for a solution on the spot to remove these animals from the community,” said Pedro Muagura.
To rectify the situation, local authorities, in agreement with PNG, created committees for the removal of animals in settlements located near the reserve.
Conflicts between people and animals occur frequently in several rural regions near Mozambique’s game reserves.
According to the latest official data, since 2020, a total of 97 Mozambicans have been killed and 66 injured in recorded attacks alone, as others are not reported, by wild animals, the majority of which are crocodiles, according to the National Administration of Nature Reserves (ANAC).
In the same year, 258 livestock, including cattle, sheep and goats, were devoured by lions, hyenas and crocodiles, and 248.81 hectares of various crops were destroyed.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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