A-Sixty five year old woman of Likamba village in chief Imonga in Sioma district of Western Province has died after being attacked by an Elephant.
Western Region Zambia Wild Life (ZAWA) Commanding Officer Gryton Kasamu disclosed the incident to ZANIS in an interview in Mongu today.
Mr. Kasamu said the Woman met her fate when she was coming back from her field where she went to collect Pumpkin leaves for relish around 09:00 near Sioma National Pack last Sunday.
He has identified the name of the deceased as Manyando Mwiya 65 adding that following the development, fear and panic has gripped the residents in the area.
But Mr. Kasamu has asked the people in the area not to panic as the ZAWA Office has deployed more Police Rangers to the area to curb the strayed beast to ensure that the lives of people are fully protected.
Human Animal Conflict in Western Province is a common due to the many National Packs surrounding the area such as Sioma Nangweshi, Kafue and Liuwa National Packs.
So what action are we taking…. killing the elephant or coming up with a collaborative solution that will be a lob term one. This has to do with land conflict and people moving in animal territory where animals may feel vulnerable and their instinct of survival kicks in. Easy solution and approach they will take is killing it which will not solve the issue and a short term goal which will lead us nowhere.
No ngo will go and cry to the British and Americans that wild animals are killing people in Zambia. Looks like it’s ok for a human being to be killed by an animal than vise versa. These are just animals which needs to be controlled by humans whatever method it takes.
Animals are part of the eco-system from which the planet sustains a balance in which even humans can survive, which humans are part of. This affects the quality of air and water as well as un-contaminated food. Human life is valuable, yes, and these situations should be controlled better, but it is not just as simple as saying it’s a man versus animal’s survival at stake. We have to be more careful than that.
Things like de-forestation have an adverse effect on the quality of life, and the sustainability of the planet itself. For example, it is said that If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man. But, if humans were to disappear from the earth on the other hand, all other formds of life would flourish in great abundance. The earth takes care of us and also needs to be taken care of. It is a resource that can be wasted carelessly leading us to certain extinction, and we are already well on that path of destruction, we need to think carefully on this issue of human animal conflict. The animals have not come to our neighbourhoods. OUR population expansion….
…has encroached their natural habitat, depleting forests and leaving these animals nowhere to go to forage for food. NGOs or America have nothing to do with this as much as we Zambians experiencing this have to think carefully what we are experiencing in our environments and the best way to resolve these things. We have people who have studied these things. Let them be the experts.
Having said that, may the old lady rest in peace, and may her unfortunate demise not be in vain. This should serve to remind us that there is work to be done. This is a life that did not have to be lost, and these things should come to an end. We have environmentalists, wildlife experts, ZAWA, and a government. Sensitisation as well as putting measures in place… Lions are also on the prawl… Hopefully wild dogs are still far away…