adminWhinsley Masara, Chronicle Reporter
TWO people cheated death following separate attacks by a lone buffalo in Tsholotsho.
Khasa Moyo of Janiza village, under Chief Mathupula, was attacked by the solitary buffalo on Sunday morning on her way to church.
A Form Two pupil, Muziwakhe Moyo, of the same area, was also attacked by the same buffalo on Monday evening while he was looking for cattle in the bush.
The two sustained injuries on the hands with Muziwakhe also being injured on the mouth. Both of them received sutures on deep cuts and are recovering at Kapane Clinic.
Villagers suspected the buffalo strayed from the Hwange National Park.
Tsholotsho Campfire’s Natural Resources assistant executive officer, Mr Mthokozisi Dlodlo said a team had been deployed on the ground on Sunday and had managed to put down the buffalo on Tuesday morning.
“We received a report of a solitary buffalo which attacked a villager on Sunday.
“We immediately deployed a team of game rangers to conduct a patrol and shoot it before it injured more or even killed people.”
“After an intense search they found it and killed it. We had no option as a solitary buffalo is usually dangerous and was bound to cause more human-wildlife conflict in the community,” said Mr Dlodlo.
Tsholotsho Rural District Council’s chief executive officer, Mr Themba Moyo said the incidents happened in ward 3, where two buffaloes have been shot this year to reduce human-wildlife conflict.
“Council is constantly monitoring the area as it is close to Hwange National Park boundary by conducting patrols.
“We also conducted an awareness campaign in the ward on wildlife conflict with Parks to reduce illegal slaughter of animals and attacks on humans,”
Mr Moyo said council is engaging other stakeholders to introduce mitigation measures to curb such problems.
“These include the use of chilli guns and barriers to keep animals like elephants away from people’s fields and homes.
“This has been done in ward 7 and results show that it’s a success as fewer elephants are now coming to people’s fields unlike in the past years,” he said.
In March, a man from Thokozani Village in Sipepa survived a buffalo attack while herding cattle after about 50 buffalo strayed from the Hwange National Park due to the destruction of the animal sanctuary’s perimeter fence.
He suffered deep cuts on his thighs.
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