Story by Tichaona Kurewa
An elephant that was terrorising residents in Mkhosana high-density suburb of Victoria Falls has been put down by the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) to avoid cases of human-wildlife conflict.
The lone bull elephant was killed on Monday night near Kings Primary school and its meat was given to the community this Tuesday morning.
While the putting down of problem animals is a stop-gap measure, human and wildlife conflict cases are a stark reminder of the negative effects of the international ban on ivory trade that has seen Zimbabwe’s elephant population ballooning to around 85 000 and exceeding the national carrying capacity of 45 000.
Cases of human-wildlife conflict are on the increase, with 66 people having been killed by animals in 2022.
