29 Mar 2017

The North West wildlife regional director Mr Timothy Blackbeard has appealed to the Maun community to beware of wild animals roaming the village of recent.
Mr Timothy Blackbeard said this in an interview with BOPA after the Department of Wildlife and National Parks captured an elephant in Boseja, Maun on Tuesday.
 He said the DWNP Maun was informed by the Maun Administration Authority about a roaming elephant early at around 640 in some parts of Boseja ward.
However Mr Blackbeard said their preliminary investigations proved that the elephants in question were three not one as it was reported.
He therefore said the other two elephants went back to the forest while the remaining one was spotted in Boseja near Mokoro Lodge. Mr Blackbeard said the animal had attracted about thousand onlookers which was a concern since that could anger the elephant.
He therefore said the police and other local authorities were called to control the crowd since some people threw stones at the elephant.
Mr Blackbeard said the DWNP with the help of stakeholders and some members of the public managed to capture the animal which was stabilised through darting at around 12 noon.
He said the elephant which was transported outside Maun however rose from the tranqualiser along the way between Matlapana and Shorobe.
Mr Blackbeard said the darting was repeated again to stabilise the elephant, which was then released to the forest; noting that three officers sustained minor injuries when the elephant woke and fell from the vehicle.
He however warned the Maun public to be cautious about roaming wild animals such as elephants, buffalo as well as hippos and crocodiles.
Mr Blackbeard said the wild animals would be a concern atleast for the next three months due to abundant water in the Tlhamalakane and harvest from the farms. He said some streams and boreholes which sustained the animals have dried up leaving  animals to seek water elsewhere.
Mr Blackbeard advised community members to refrain from disturbing the wild animals when they come upon them since they can be dangerous if provoked but rather to report to the relevant authorities who can track and capture such animals. ENDS