KZN community near Ulundi lives in fear of stray elephants

The community of Ekudubekeni in KwaCeza near Ulundi has approached the national parliament to intervene in removing stray elephants, which are threatening the lives and property of residents. The elephants are believed to be members of an original herd of about 30 roaming elephants which escaped from a private game reserve.

After a young herdsman was attacked but survived an attack by an elephant in March last year, an operation was launched by conservation bodies and organisations to guide the herd away from the community, but some of them have since returned.

The residents of the rural Ekudubekeni community live in constant fear. They say they can’t grow crops anymore and their children can’t go to school when the elephants are around. And because they cannot venture outside at night, they are virtually under curfew.

“Nothing stops an elephant. We have a fence around our crops, but those were meant so our livestock don’t go in and eat there, but it’s a different case with elephants. They tear down anything on their way. It has now come to a point where most of the community are not planting anything anymore. Sometimes we camp out at night and light a fire to prevent them from going near the little crops that are left,” says Thokozani Sangweni, resident.

Their nightmare began seven years ago after a herd of about 30 elephants, which escaped from the Mawana Private Game Reserve after the death of the reserve owner, started to terrorise the community.

Twenty-five-year-old Mzobanzi Buthelezi recalls the day of the horror attack last year, when he was gored by an elephant bull.

“Until today I don’t know how I managed to survive that day. I was busy gathering cattle near the river when I saw this huge elephant. It started crying out loud and chased me toying with me with its trunk before attacking me with its tasks. I still have nightmares of that day. I’m scared of going out,” he says.

The provincial wildlife authority, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife was granted a roaming permit for the Mawana elephants, which meant that if the community was threatened, the authority could act and destroy the elephants.

There was an outcry among environmental groups when the authority destroyed nine of the elephants. Following this, wildlife authorities and other organisations worked together in an operation to remove the herd out of the area. But the community says some of the herds have returned and their talks with the other interested parties have resolved nothing.

“We’ve held countless meetings with the owners, and I’ve requested that they please remove these elephants if possible or kill them because now they have grown in numbers. They said we’ve raised our concerns previously in having a game reserve near the community because we have livestock that’s how we make our living. They told us before that they don’t know what to do with them because they don’t know where they’ll take them to,” says traditional leader, Xolani Buthelezi.

After being approached by the community, the portfolio committee on environment has ordered the provincial wildlife authority to find an urgent solution.

“They took it very seriously the issue of human wildlife conflict in that area and we were told that people’s lives matter and they come first and after that we were also advised to say let’s continue collaborating, let’s work with the NGOs because for now, they look like they’re the only ones that are coming up with a viable solution,” says Vuyiswa Radebe of the Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife.

The authority says it’s currently fencing off an area for the elephants. It’s been ordered to report back to parliament in July.