Online Reporter
Thupeyo Muleya
BEITBRIDGE Rural District Council (BBRDC) has enlisted the services of professional hunters to address the ongoing problem of elephants and human conflict across the district.
Elephants have become a perennial problem for the community living near water bodies and the Umzingwane, Shashe, Bubi and Limpopo Rivers.
Some areas include Shashe, Dite, Lukange, Whunga, Mpande, Tshambombela, Tongwe and Tshikwalakwala, among others.
The affected wards have been experiencing frequent elephant invasions, resulting in crop damage and threatening the livelihoods of local communities, a development that has caused a lot of distress for many small-holder farmers.
Beitbridge RDC chief executive officer, Mrs Kiliboni Mbedzi, said this Tuesday that they were equally concerned with the effect of the elephants and hence the move to collaborate with line stakeholders.
“We are collaborating with stakeholders to implement measures that will reduce human-wildlife conflict and promote coexistence,” she said.
“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.”
“The herd is migrant, and it’s hard for us to be everywhere all the time, but let me assure members of the community that the council is committed to finding sustainable solutions.”
She urged communities to remain vigilant and report any elephant sightings to the relevant authorities, adding that the council will continue to engage stakeholders to ensure the safety and well-being of residents.
Some of the ongoing and proposed measures being implemented include the deployment of elephant deterrents, such as chilli blocks and beehive fences, and the establishment of wildlife corridors to minimise human-wildlife conflict.
Elephant problem hotspots in the Beitbridge area are primarily driven by animals straying from conservancies or moving between South Africa and Botswana, resulting in high human-wildlife conflict along the Limpopo River valley.
