60 Zimbabweans killed by elephants this year
Baku, May 11, AZERTAC
Sixty Zimbabweans have been killed by elephants so far this year, as a conservation success story has led to increased conflict with humans, the government spokesman said Tuesday, according to AFP.
With 100,000 elephants, Zimbabwe has the world's second-largest population after Botswana, and about one-quarter of the elephants in all of Africa.
Unlike in much of the world, where poachers have killed off the animals for their tusks, Zimbabwe's elephant population is growing at about five percent a year.
"In some areas, elephants are moving in numerous herds and have devoured everything in the fields and are now moving into homesteads, forcing community members to retaliate, in the process injuring some of the elephants," government spokesman Nick Mangwana said on Twitter.
"The injured ones have become aggressive and uncontrollable," Mangwana said.
"The issue of human and wildlife conflict has become quite emotive. This year alone 60 Zimbabweans have lost their lives to elephants and 50 injured," he said.
Mangwana said elephants killed 72 people in 2021.
Zimbabwe has a population of around 15 million which is growing at around 1.5 percent per year.
Conservationists say that Zimbabwe can support about 45,000 elephants, which require vast grounds for grazing.
Other news in this section
