25 Apr 2021

Residents of Gungwe and Mbalambi in the North East District were on Tuesday night ambushed by elephants.

Kgosi Sonnyboy Buka of Gungwe told BOPA in an interview on Wednesday that a herd of elephants passed between Gungwe and Mbalambi villages destroying everything on their path including farm fences and crops.

He highlighted that the animals caused more damage at Mbalambi farms, where they spent the night ravaging farm produce.

Kgosi Buka indicated that they had hoped that this year would be different, as there was ample grazing land elsewhere than near residential areas, due to the sufficient rains.

He said this was the first ambush this season and called on all farmers to go into their fields and harvest every crop that was still standing; ripe or not.

He said elephants were known to cause massive damage in farms, village or water source, adding that they were expecting more in the near future now that the first herd had paved a way.

Kgosi Buka called on residents to be on high alert at all times, especially at the farms.

For his part, Kgosi Bernard Mbalambi of Mbalambi stated they had a very daunting Tuesday night as farmers had to rush to the fields to beat drums to chase away the elephants.

He highlighted that most farmers had not harvested their crops, hence the thought of them losing them to elephants was stressful, adding that some farmers lost the crops they had harvested but left at the fields to be transported home.

Kgosi Mbalambi said this was a warning for all farmers to go back to the fields and harvest all their crops, because the animals would return, stressing that it was disheartening for farmers to toil in vain.

He noted that people had ploughed in large numbers this year.

However he said all was not lost for farmers whose fields were in the far West, as they could still harvest their crops before the next invasion.

Kgosi Mbalambi stated that over the past few years, Mbalambi, Gungwe, Sekakangwe, Gambule and Zwenshambe villages had become a playground for elephants crossing from Zimbabwe into Botswana to find temporary abode in the Domboshaba hills.

He highlighted that they were still awaiting the Department of Wildlife and National Parks to conduct assessments on the damages caused by the animals. Ends