Angry Elephants Damage Vehicle As Two Calfs Are Killed

The Times of Zambia (Ndola)

February 17, 2005

ANGRY elephants in the tourist capital Livingstone extensively damaged a motor vehicle belonging to a contractor after he knocked down two baby elephants, which were crossing the road at the weekend.

The two people who were in the vehicle were nursing injuries at Batoka General Hospital.

The incident happened at the junction of Thorn-tree Lodge on the Livingstone/Sesheke road where two baby elephants were hit by a vehicle, killing them on the spot.

Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) public relations officer Maureen Mwape confirmed the incident in an interview yesterday but could not give details saying she was still waiting for a report from Livingstone.

But eyewitnesses told the Times in Livingstone that soon after the incident several elephants gathered around their two dead young ones causing a traffic jam on both sides of the road.

After damaging the motor vehicle, which they rolled over several times, the elephants also blocked the road for more than six hours.

"The mourning for elephants goes on even after five years and the elephants will continue to gather at the accident scene. The mistake one should not make is to honk," the eyewitness said.

And a check on Monday evening found that the elephants had gathered at the same accident scene and motorists had to wait for the elephants to disperse.