09 Apr 2013

Relations between humans and elephants have taken a nose dive after yet another bloody encounter between the two in Kazungula over the weekend.

This comes in the wake of another brush with death scenario, in which an elephant left a young man with broken limbs in Plateau. The latest confrontation involved another male who had gone to help chase away elephants that were damaging crops at Mr Tshenyo Solomon’s farm.

“One of the elephants got angry and started charging at us and the gentleman immediately shot at the elephant with a rifle but it did not die,” Mr Solomon narrated the story to BOPA.

He explained that the elephant battered the man, breaking the rifle in the process before fleeing the scene oozing blood from gun shots. This latest attack did not only worsen the conflict between humans and elephants, it also aggravated the already fragile relations between Mr Solomon’s farm and the tourism sector, which relied heavily on elephants’ availability to entertain their guests.

To demonstrate their displeasure, two of the neighbouring lodges pulled out of his supply list and they were threatening to lobby other lodges to follow suit. Mr Solomon would no longer supply his neighbours with fresh produce.

 It is a case of one man’s scrap being another one’s gold. Mr Solomon said that elephants wreak havoc on his farm almost every day. “Infact, it is not just the elephants, baboons and warthogs also play their part,” he said.

However, when he did the seemingly reasonable act of fighting them back with a rifle, he encountered friction with neighbouring lodge owners who complained that he was scaring away and unsettling their customers who loved the place primarily for its elephants.

“There are two lodges which have complained about this to me but I also have my business interests to look after. Their business should not come at my own expense,” he argued.

 He stated that their conflict with wildlife was well known and had been reported to the responsible ministry but to no avail. “The Horticultural Council, of which I am a member, is aware of these issues and has channeled these issues to the Ministry of Agriculture,” he noted.

One representative from one of the said lodges would not agree to be interviewed on record but instead referred BOPA to an organisation called Enviro 911.

Mr Grant Nel, of Enviro 911 attributed the economic success of the Chobe region on its reliance on elephants. It is estimated that there are about 71 000 elephants in the Chobe region,  according to the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP).

“Even the farmers’ business would not be doing well if this place was not so rich in elephants and wild animals,” Mr Nel said. He explained that his organisation mainly deals with illegal environmental issues such as poaching, but of late the human-wildlife conflict had taken priority.

"There is hatred between wildlife and farmers and that can aid poaching because these animals have become a hindrance to the farmers, so even if poaching takes place in front of them, that would be getting rid of an obstacle for them,” explained Mr Nel.

He said that they were aware of what Section 46 of the Wildlife Act entailed, but said it was loose and needed to be reviewed. He argued that most farmers who cried foul were those who had been allocated land right in the middle of the wildlife corridor.

“They are the ones who created this conflict. These elephants use that route to access water so if there is an obstacle they would most likely destroy it and proceed on their path,” he said.

Mr Nel noted that chasing elephants with rifles and firing gunshots was not solving any problem and he anticipated that things were going to get worse with droughts expected in the region this year.

However he did acknowledge that thorough consultation had not been done. “We have not done enough to protect the small farmers, no one has done enough. All stakeholders must come together to bring a permanent solution to this conflict, what is currently happening is just a means to an end.”

Mr Nel called on farmers to adequately protect their farms against elephant invasion but Mr Solomon felt that they were doing enough, having electric fences around their farms and even going as far as trying out the chilli-pepper pilot project, which is said to keep elephants away.

Even though it was still at pilot stage, some farmers had already dismissed it as useless, as elephants still managed to make their way into the farms. At the time of interview, Mr Solomon’s farm was being made elephant-proof with the new initiative, but after a series of attacks from the elephants, his level of enthusiasm has been waning.

Mr Nel said in future, when allocating land, wildlife corridors must be put into consideration. “Farms should be allocated away from wildlife corridors and there is need for education on the importance of wildlife in this region,” he said.

He emphasised that commercial farmers and tourism enterprises must not infringe on each other’s business. ENDS