Elephants trample man to death

Baboki Kayawe | Wednesday November 16, 2016 18:39

 

The police say the incident was the first of its kind since the Boteti River started flowing in late 2000s, attracting herds of elephants and other wild animals in the village and other neigbouring places.

Rakops Police Station Commander, Makgophe Oageng said the incident happened last Thursday at a cattle post just a stone throw  from the village, but could not disclose details, as there were no eyewitnesses. 

“It appears he was trampled upon by the animals after he fled another herd of elephants only to meet a lot of them where he had ran to,” Oageng said.

He added they could only speculate, as the man was alone when he met his ill fate.

“The Rakops resident whose identity I cannot reveal was alone at the time, and his body was discovered by a neighbour who had scheduled a meeting with the deceased. However, upon realising the man was not in his compound at the agreed meeting time, he followed his footsteps and discovered elephants footprints as well,” said Oageng.

“He followed the footprints until he stumbled upon the man’s lifeless body, supposedly crushed by elephants because the ground showed signs that a stampede had occurred,” he added.

He cautioned people not to scare off these animals when they happen to come across them.

“This has never happened before. What I can really say is that since elephants have encroached human space, there is need for people to at least learn how to exist with these creatures. They should not try to fight them,” he advised.

Before, the most common human-wildlife conflict, which occurred in the area, was elephants destroying crops at the ploughing fields, added Oageng.   The Boteti River forms the western boundary of the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, which is home to an array of wildlife species during the wet season.

Meanwhile, he warned business people and homeowners to engage security services as the festive season approaches to curb incidents of break-ins and theft.