Limpopo – Farmers in Musina and the surrounding villages are living in fear after a large parade of elephants crossed the Limpopo River into South Africa, started damaging their crops and raising concerns of disease spread on Wednesday.
One of the farmers, Samuel Nembahe, said he and his farm workers had to vacate the premises when a herd of elephants invaded their farm.
He said the elephants have been ravaging farms, ruining crops and infrastructure at farms along the Limpopo River over the past weeks.
“It worries me when they come here because they may infect our cattle with diseases, and this is our business. We sell the cattle to make ends meet. If we have to close down due to the elephant invasion, it is a serious problem. My employees have run away due to fear,” said the frustrated Nembahe.
One of the farm workers, Rosina Ndou of Niani village, said she and her colleagues spent a week sleeping on top of the mountain due to fear.
“A family of elephants came closer to our houses and they damaged the fence and the drinking trough of our cattle. We decided to run away because elephants are deadly animals. A South African National Defence Force (SANDF) member was killed by a herd of elephants while on border patrol near Madimbo last month,” she said.
Philemon Munyai, the community leader of Niani village, said those elephants might be the ones that killed a member of the SANDF three weeks ago.
“We have already reported them to the police at Tshamutumbu SAPS and to the environmental department.
“We are happy that rangers are patrolling the area,” said Munyai.
Limpopo Environmental Affairs Department’s spokesperson, Hitekani Magwedze, has called on members of the public not to confront the elephants.
According to Magwedze, migration is a natural process. He cautioned people in and around the Niani area to be extremely alert when they go to the bushes to collect firewood.
“We advise members of the communities not to follow our rangers to behold the beauty of these animals.
Elephants are crossing from Zimbabwe into South Africa, particularly in Limpopo, causing concerns for farmers and residents due to crop damage and potential disease spread. These movements are a part of seasonal migrations from Botswana and Zimbabwe between July and October, driven by factors like drought and population growth. The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) is involved in border security, but the elephant crossings highlight human-wildlife conflicts in the region.
“Those elephants have crossed over from Zimbabwe, and they are expected to return to their natural habitats after the first rains of the season,” he said.
Our rangers are actively monitoring the herd and working to steer the animals away from densely populated areas to minimize risk to residents,” said Magwedze.
