Communities in Hwange have called on the government and wildlife authorities to take urgent steps to reduce human–wildlife conflicts, which continue to threaten lives, destroy crops and disrupt livelihoods.
Residents say the growing encounters between humans and animals are largely due to shrinking habitats and limited water sources in the bush, forcing wildlife to encroach into villages in search of food and water.
Hwange, home to one of Zimbabwe’s largest national parks, is widely known as a wildlife-rich area where animals such as elephants, lions and buffalo freely roam the surrounding communities.
In an interview with CITE, a resident from Hwange, Brandon Mudhendha said most conflicts occur because humans and animals are failing to “communicate” and understand each other’s spaces.
“Most of the time, animals perceive human presence as an invasion of their territory. For example, elephants are led by a matriarch and follow the same routes in search of food and water, only to find that people have built homes along those paths. That’s why human-wildlife conflicts occur,” Mudhendha said.
Mudhendha said one possible solution would be for the government to construct more dams within wildlife areas to prevent animals from leaving their habitats.
“The solution is for the government to construct more dams in the bush because, at times, animals come into communities in search of water and end up destroying people’s crops. If there was enough water in the bush, the animals would stay there,” he said.”
He urged people to understand and respect animal behaviour, adding that wildlife should be treated with the same respect as human beings.
“People should understand that animals should be treated as human beings, as people we can understand if we are told don’t do this, don’t go there, but with animals sometimes they might not buy the story, so as humans we need to understand that these animals are ours, we need to protect them,” said Mudhendha.
Mudhendha also said there is a need for education and awareness on how humans can coexist peacefully with wildlife.
“If animals are adequately provided for, they might respond better,” he said.
“Humans also need to be educated to protect animals instead of injuring or poaching them. Many people don’t realise how harmful poaching is. We need to teach communities to take care of our wildlife because these animals support tourism and contribute to the State’s revenue.”
Mudhenda noted that other reason animals sometimes injure people is because of miscommunication.
“We need to understand how certain animals behave and maintain a safe distance so we don’t cross their comfort zone. Most people get injured because they ignore that space, leaving the animal with no option but to attack,” he said.
Another resident, Comforter Minyandi, said hunger was also a major driver of human–wildlife conflict as animals search for food.
“Elephants are not able to exist well with humans. What contributes to human-wildlife conflicts is hunger, the animals will be in search of food. The other troublesome animals are ‘mabhere.’ We have another situation we encountered where we noticed that ‘mabhere’ are disturbing people,” he said.
He said animals such as ‘mashoko’ are also attacking livestock, including goats, and urged authorities to relocate problem animals back to game parks.
Tanaka Matomba, another villager, said elephants have been destroying people’s gardens and affecting household incomes.
“We have people who grow vegetables in their gardens to survive and send their children to school, but elephants destroy those gardens,” she said.
“Some farmers also grow bananas and supply big shops like OK and TM, yet their businesses are being affected by these animals. We are appealing to the government to intervene and move the animals farther away from communities.”
A community radio representative, Meluleki Weza, said education remains key in reducing conflicts between humans and animals.
“As a community radio station we are making efforts to educate the community about human-wildlife conflicts and how we can co-exists,” he said.
However, Weza noted that delays in response by wildlife authorities worsen the problem.
Weza said reducing the elephant population through controlled culling could be another way to address the growing pressure on land and resources.
“Culling elephants is the solution as their population is growing while the resources are shrinking,” he said.