Jumbos Rampage Maize Fields

New Era (Windhoek)

June 17, 2005
Wezi Tjaronda
Windhoek

INHABITANTS of several villages in the Omatendeka conservancy in the Kunene Region have appealed for assistance after elephants destroyed scores of maize fields in the area recently.

Although the jumbos have been living in the area for a very long time, residents say this has been the most problematic time.

Between May and June, an official of the Kaoko Epupa Development Foundation (KEDF), Karipetua Uarije, who has relatives in Omu-ramba village, said the elephants destroyed almost 64 maize fields, 26 in Otjo-zongombe, three in Okakuju and 35 in Omuramba.

Even maize that some four families harvested and put up on racks to dry in people's homesteads have also been destroyed, added Uarije.

People in the area depend on maize, which they grind into maize flour for their food mainly when omaere (sour milk) becomes scarce.

Omatendeka was registered as a conservancy in 2003 and is supported by the Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation (IRDNC). Uarije said coexistence between wildlife and people has been going on very well except in times like this when wildlife destroys people's livelihood.

Two weeks ago, according to the chairperson of the Ngatuunae Farmers Union, Ben Kapi, the elephants destroyed livestock kraals and also chased two children from the water point in Omuramba.

Apparently, out of the six elephants in the area, one in particular is problematic as it even destroyed a house in an attempt to eat maize that was stored in the house.

The matter was reported to the Ministry of Environment and Tourism office in Opuwo. Sacky Namugongo, deputy director of Wildlife Management said his office was aware of many problem animal incidents in particular involving elephants and lions.

"They have a problem of territory. I don't know who is encroaching in whose territory," he said.

With an increase in human population, people have settled everywhere and constructed livestock kraals very close to and along routes that elephants have used for a long time as well as water points put up for them. Due to the many cases of destruction by problem animals, the ministry's officials are all over trying to restore calm.

Namugongo said recently, communities from Uuvud-hiya Constituency, Ongand-jera, Onambwa and Ona-mutanga areas reported the presence of lions and elephants there. In another case, two lions got injured in snares put up by the community to prevent the carnivores from preying on their livestock.

Although the ministry has sent a team to monitor the situation, Namugongo appealed to communities in Ongandjera to be very careful as lions, once wounded, can be very dangerous.

Elephants are also reported to have destroyed mahangu fields in Uukwaludhi Conservancy, and Tsandi Constituency in the Omungulu-gombashe area.

Wildlife numbers have increased owing to good conservation practices, said Namugongo, who added that wildlife should be protected as part of the country's natural heritage.

A recently released report on communal conservancies, "Namibia's Communal Conservancies: a review of progress and challenges" has it on record that wildlife populations have increased remarkably due to reduction in poaching and also through managing human/animal conflict. This, notes the report, the first of its kind in the country, has also increased frequencies of problem animal incidents.

"Wildlife now often mixes freely with domestic stock in Kunene, where elephants have been recorded drinking and eating vegetables and crops grown next to homesteads for example," says the publication.

The kinds of problems associated with wildlife differ depending on the conservancy. While crop damage due to elephants and loss of human life to crocodiles are more prevalent in the Caprivi, livestock losses and damage to boreholes and other water installations are more prevalent in areas of north-west Namibia, says the report.

Namugongo advised communities not only to coexist with animals and simply criticise when damage has been caused, but also to suggest ways through which such incidents can be minimised.