09 Sep 2020

Elephants Protection Society founder, Mr Oaitse Nawa has expressed concern about some community members who kill elephants without valid reasons.

This follows a recent incident where an elephant was shot at one of the camp sites near Boro village located near the buffalo fence in the Okavango Delta.

Elephants Protection Society is an organisation which secures the future for elephants and sustains the beauty and ecological integrity.

It promotes con-existence between elephants and the community by enhancing the protection of elephants and educating the community about the value of elephants and other species.

It also emboldens the community to act against poaching and other actions that may bring elephants to extinction.

In an interview, Mr Nawa confirmed that they received a report that one elephant had been killed around Boro last week.

Following the disturbing incident, he said, they rushed to the scene and they were informed that the elephant was intruding at one camp site and posing a danger to people.

Although, he appreciated that the elephant tusks were intact, he said they conducted an investigation and found that the elephant was just grazing while on its way to the jungle.

Mr Nawa expressed frustration that despite their efforts to teach the communities about management options of human/wildlife conflict such as how to chase elephants, some people still killed them for no reason.

He said they had observed that most elephants had sustained some wounds hence they were aggressive and posing a risks to the lives of the communities.

Ngamiland district is most affected by human wildlife conflicts, particularly elephants and Mr Nawa appealed to the community to guard against poaching and promote conservation of wildlife, noting that wildlife was contributing significantly towards the tourism industry.

He noted that the law stated that residents could kill animals in defence if they posed a danger to them.

He noted that communities had been suffering at the expense of elephant destructions, but stated that killing was not a solution as that would impact negatively on the tourism industry.

Mr Nawa highlighted that his organisation was planning to embark on a public education exercise to raise awareness on conservation.

He said the activity would take place on October 5, and it would cover Maun, Matsaudi, Boro and surrounding settlements.

During the campaign, he said, they would teach the communities on how to chase elephants and how to react when they get irritated and start charging.

“We want our communities to love their rich environment and also to learn the behaviour of elephants. We believe that people should live in harmony with animals,” he added. ENDS