BY NIZBERT MOYO INCREASED human-wildlife conflicts have resulted in 35 people being killed by wild animals this year alone, the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) has revealed.
ZimParks spokesperson Tinashe Farawo told NewsDay that the most recent death was last week, involving a woman who was trampled by an elephant in Victoria Falls.
“I can confirm that 35 people have been killed by animals since January. Three of them were killed by elephants, with the most recent case being of one person who was killed in Victoria Falls last week, while two others were trampled by elephants in Mount Darwin two weeks ago,” Farawo said.
“We note with concern that people are dying due to human-wildlife conflicts. We will be holding awareness campaigns on a daily basis to teach people to co-exist with wildlife. People should desist from interfering with animal activities.”
Most of these incidents happen at night according to Farawo who urged people not to provoke wild animals because it will lead to attacks.
“The only animal that can attack even if unprovoked is the Buffalo and the only way to control the human-wildlife conflicts is to depopulate places where there are a lot of animals. People should report to ZimParks whenever they face challenges with wildlife,” he said.
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