DAR ES SALAAM, Apr 16 (NNN-IRIN) – At least 100 elephants raided five villages in Tanzania’s southern highlands, over the past two weeks, destroying over 400 hectares of crops, officials said yesterday.
The elephants, from the nearby Ruaha National Park, destroyed farms planted with maize, padi and round potatoes in five villages, in Igava ward of Mbarali district in Mbeya region, said, Gaitan Madindo, Igava ward executive officer.
Madindo said, game rangers from the Tanzania National Parks Authority (TANAPA), are helping to ward off the elephants, before they conduct an assessment to establish the magnitude of damage caused by them.
Helen Mchati, an official from TANAPA, who is coordinating the task of keeping off the elephants, said, they will work round the clock to ensure that the animals are sent back to their habitats.
In Feb, 2020, Tanzanian Prime Minister, Kassim Majaliwa, said the government started deploying game rangers to the areas, which suffer from raids by wild animals.
Majaliwa said, the game rangers, through the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, have already been deployed to villages in Ruvuma, Simiyu and Mara regions.
Majaliwa said, the increasing attacks by wild animals on human settlements were due to a spike in wildlife population in national parks and game reserves, following successful anti-poaching campaigns.
