Mother and baby trampled to death by elephant in Zimbabwe




An elephant spotted at Phandamathenga game reserve near Zimbabwe. Picture Cindy waxa.Reporter Nontando/Argus
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CHIPINGE – A 23-year-old Zimbabwean mother and her three-month-old baby were trampled to death by an elephant in the south-eastern region of the country on New Year’s day.

According to Zimbabwean local media, the elephant has since been put down.

According to reports, human-wildlife conflict is common in some rural parts of Zimbabwe.

The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority says resource competition between growing human and wildlife populations is a major cause of the human-wildlife conflict.

According to Zimbabwean local media, owing to population growth, humans are now encroaching on the wildlife territories, some have destroyed security infrastructure within the national game reserves hence animals can now stray into villages easily.

 

Last year, a 71-year-old tourist from South Africa was trampled to death by an elephant while visiting Zimbabwe’s Mana Pool National Park as his son watched on “in full view”, according to news website, Independent.co.uk.

The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority said a “tuskless” female elephant charged the tourist and his 41-year-old son as they took a morning walk in the park.

Furthermore, in 2021, authorities in the country said the country will “soon” start selling rights to shoot as many as 500 elephants.

Tinashe Farawo, a spokesperson for the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, told American news network CNN that declining tourism revenue owing to the Covid-19 pandemic was among the main reasons for the move.

However, the culling of elephants has drawn resistance from animal rights activists.

– African News Agency