Elephants wreak havoc in Middle Sabi

A of elephants straying from the

HERD Save Conservancy is wreaking havoc in Middle Sabi, Chipinge, thereby destroying citrus plantations and several hectares of winter wheat.

Farmers are counting their losses as oranges and bananas are being destroyed at their ripening stage, while most of the wheat is at grain filling stage.

Last week, some villagers escaped death by a whisker when some elephants charged at them as they were trying to drive them away.

Middle Sabi Farmers’ Association chairman, Mr Skumbuzo Thondlana said a total of 15 hectares of wheat has been destroyed so far from various farms in Middle Sabi.

He said harvests will be drastically reduced if no action is taken to control the elephants. Mr Thondlana also said elephants are also known for their love of oranges, hence the destruction of citrus plantations in the area.

“For the past week, Middle Sabi farmers have been enduring sleepless nights as the elephants are destroying their crops, mainly wheat and citrus plantations. Farmers are struggling to contain the situation because of lack of resources.

“They are using traditional means

such as drum beating and blowing fire crackers to scare the animals away, but their efforts are proving to be in vain as the elephants seem undeterred.

“Farmers with electric perimeter fences are the only ones who will harvest something, but it is a disaster to most resettled farmers here,”he said.

The perimeter fence around the Save Conservancy was destroyed by the Cyclone Idai-induced floods in 2019 and is yet to be repaired.

“We sometimes call rangers from ZimParks, but they always cite lack of resources to attend to the problem. As long as the fence is not repaired, we will continue losing our crops.

Mr Benedict Hlahla from Farm 17, Chipangayi, said his three hectares of wheat were destroyed last week.

“The elephants invaded my plot last Thursday and destroyed part of my wheat. The elephants came again on Monday and l phoned ZimParks rangers from Middle Sabi. They managed to drive them back to the conservancy.

“We are living in fear as a herd of five elephants charged at some villagers who were trying to scare them away last week. No-one was injured, but lives may be lost if ZimParks fail to find a lasting solution.

“The lush green crops in our fields as well as the orange plantations here will continue attracting the elephants,” said Mr Hlahla.

ZimParks spokesperson, Mr Tinashe Farawo said they are receiving distress calls of marauding wild animals wreaking havoc in communities from across the country on a daily basis.

“This is being caused by overpopulation of wild animals in our parks and conservancies. The animals tend to encroach into human settlements in search of food and water, thereby exacerbating the human and wildlife conflict. Because of overpopulation, the wild animals are also destroying their own habitat and they are now becoming a danger unto themselves. Proceeds from tourism keep us running, but the Covid-19 pandemic has taken a toll on this sector and our resource base is dwindling by each passing day,”said Mr Farawo.

He added:“The only solution for this problem is depopulating the animals. However, we are not getting much support from some animal rights groups, yet lives are being lost. So far this year alone, we have lost 45 lives due to the human and wildlife conflicts.

“Nevertheless, we will continue deploying our rangers whenever we get distress calls so that we save lives,” he said.