Online Reporter
Thupeyo Muleya, [email protected]
THE Beitbridge Rural District Council (BBRDC) has enlisted the services of professional hunters to address the ongoing problem of human-elephant conflict across the district.
Elephants have become a persistent challenge for community members living near water bodies and along the Umzingwane, Shashe, Bubi and Limpopo rivers. Affected areas include Shashe, Dite, Lukange, Whunga, Mpande, Tshambombela, Tongwe and Tshikwalakwala, among others.
The affected wards have been experiencing repeated elephant incursions, resulting in widespread crop damage and posing serious threats to the livelihoods of local communities — a situation that has caused significant distress for many smallholder farmers.
Beitbridge RDC chief executive officer, Mrs Kiliboni Mbedzi, said on Tuesday that the council was deeply concerned by the escalating situation, prompting the decision to collaborate with key stakeholders.
“We are collaborating with stakeholders to implement measures that will reduce human-wildlife conflict and promote coexistence.
“As the local authority, we have engaged professional hunters working with the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) and safari operators to mitigate the effects in all the affected areas.
“We will continuously respond to distress calls from the community members. At the moment, we are doing our best albeit with resource constraints,” she said.
Mrs Mbedzi said the elephant herd is migratory, making it difficult for council teams to monitor all hotspots at once.
“But let me assure members of the community that the council is committed to finding sustainable solutions,” she said, urging residents to remain vigilant and promptly report elephant sightings to the relevant authorities.
She said the council would continue engaging stakeholders to ensure the safety and well being of communities.
Some of the ongoing and proposed interventions include the deployment of elephant deterrents such as chilli blocks and beehive fences, as well as the establishment of wildlife corridors to minimise human–wildlife conflict.
Elephant conflict hotspots in Beitbridge are mainly caused by animals straying from conservancies or moving between South Africa and Botswana, resulting in high levels of human–wildlife conflict along the Limpopo River Valley.
