02 Jun 2020

A herd of elephants is reported to have destroyed farm fences in Mbalambi and Mapoka villages in the North East District.

In an interview with BOPA, the Department of Wildlife and National Parks officer Mr Malatsi Mamane stated that elephants trespassed through a farm in Mbalambi on May 17 while another herd invaded a farm in Mapoka the following day.

He highlighted that a herd of five elephants entered a farm in Mbalambi at night while the number of the herd in Mapoka was not confirmed yet.

Mr Mamane observed that in recent years, elephants had developed a pattern to invade farms in border villages where they damaged the fence to devour farm produce.

On a positive note, he indicated that the farmers had already harvested their crops and moved them to their homes hence the animals did not damage any crops.

Mr Mamane said elephants were a common sight in some North East District villages during the months of April, May and June.

He said it was fortunate that the animals came late this year when people had harvested their crops unlike in the past years, when they destroyed crops in Mbalambi, Gungwe, Moroka, Mapoka and Matsiloje villages.

The officer said elephants moved in patterns hence it was likely that they followed their yearly pattern and returned to the villages.

Mr Mamane stated that the Wildlife and national parks office in Masunga had embarked on Kgotla meetings last year to warn farmers about the prospective influx of elephants in the district.

He stated that farmers were urged to harvest their crops as soon as they ripe to prevent them from being destroyed by wild animals which invade their farms.

He said elephants migrated to the region to look for grazing land especially during the harvesting season to ravage people’s farms.

However, he noted that due to the scarce rains in the North East district this past raining season, minimal migration of elephants was expected in the region.

Mr Mamane called on the public to be vigilant at all times during winter season in case they come across elephants.

Meanwhile in Nkange, BOPA reporter Goitsemang Williams reports that elephants have become a menace in border villages such as Maitengwe, Senete, Tutume and the surrounding areas.

Farmers in the area complain of destroyed fields by wild animals, which had become a common sight and an annual occurrence.

In an interview, Kgosi Toteng Ndzonga of Nkange said they no longer get shocked when they see elephants in the area which often leave farmers empty-handed.

Kgosi Ndzonga lamented that this year, farmers had it tough as they experienced poor rains and the outbreak of COVID-19, which had resulted in them harvesting nothing at all.

He said the lockdown protocols also contributed to poor harvests as people’s movements were restricted, adding that the Ngomana fields were hard hit as elephants destroyed the crops, repeating the 2018 situation where farmers went home empty handed.

Kgosi Ndzonga stated that although they appreciated efforts by wildlife officers to chase them away, the situation had not improved as elephants continued to invade fields, destroy water ponds, boreholes and cattle kraals.

He also highlighted that some farmers had decided to stay home and not attend to their fields for fear of being attacked and killed by elephants.

Kgosi Ndzonga noted that the village leadership continued to encourage their people to check on their fields.

Meanwhile, Tutume senior wildlife warden Ms Ketimeletswe Mondiya said for a three months period beginning March to date, they had received about 98 reports of elephants damages.

The reports, she said, were from villages in the Nkange constituency, including Dukwi and Mosetse villages, adding that Tutume had the highest number of reports.

Ms Mondiya said in March, Tutume recorded 24 cases, Senete two and Maitengwe one case, while in April during the lockdown period her office received eight reports from Maitengwe, seven from Senete and Tutume had six.

This month, she added, from Tutume they received six and four each from Maitengwe and Senete.

She explained that they had assembled two teams during the lockdown period to attend to all reports to make assessment on damages caused.

She said the farmers had not yet been compensated due to the backlog of such cases, adding that they were still attending to 2019 reports. ENDS