Chronicle EditorLeonard Ncube, [email protected]
A Hwange man says his wife is lucky to be alive after she crawled to safety as an elephant trampled on a piece of cloth it had hooked with its tusk in an attempt to gore her.
Mr Philimon Munsaka from Makwika Village in Hwange said his wife, Loveness Ncube (42), was fetching firewood in a bushy area with a neighbour on Monday when they encountered a herd of elephants.
One of the jumbos charged at the two women and attacked Ms Ncube who landed hard on the ground and fractured her leg.
“She could not outpace the elephant, which attempted to gore her. She was lucky because the cloth she wrapped on herself was hooked by the elephant tusk and the jumbo trampled on it thinking it was her,” said Mr Munsaka.
He said his wife gathered strength and started crawling to safety. The neighbour who had fled stopped at a distance and started looking for her.
“She rushed and pulled her away from the scene. My wife said at that time she was too weak and could not move because of the pain and requested to sit down.
“The other woman rushed to get some water and poured it on her before she rushed to seek help. Neighbours brought two vehicles and rushed her to hospital,” said Mr Munsaka.
He said his wife was stitched at St Patrick’s Hospital before being transferred to Mpilo Central Hospital.
“We arrived in Bulawayo on Tuesday night and they have now taken her to the theatre. I want to thank Hwange residents who contributed the money we are using to buy medicines,” he said.
Hwange residents have called for urgent finalisation of the Parks and Wildlife Bill so that victims of human-wildlife conflict can be assisted.
The Ministry of Environment, Climate and Wildlife has been consulting citizens countrywide about the Bill. The Government is also working on coming up with a Human-Wildlife Conflict Relief Fund whose objective is to compensate victims or families of attacks by animals.
Women Coalition of Zimbabwe chapter chairperson for Hwange, Ms Sithembinkosi Ndlovu, said women are at higher risk as they fend for their families.
“There is a need to hold people involved accountable but authorities would argue that she was trespassing in a private concession area. So, as women, we say they should prioritise life so that at least she gets treatment since she is not a Hwange Colliery employee who can easily access services at the Colliery Hospital,” she said.
“The Parks and Wildlife Management Bill whose provisions will be compensation in such circumstances is still being debated. Such cases may not even get help.”
A resident recently also lost a car after being attacked by an elephant, which crashed the vehicle along Makwika Road from town.
The animals stray into human settlements because the bush has been invaded by open-cast miners, especially in the Table Mine area, which has closed wildlife corridors thereby fuelling human-wildlife conflict. – @ncubeleon
Online Reporter