Elephant critically injures Ngarange man

Koketso Kgoboge | Tuesday February 13, 2018 15:17

 

The incident is the second in the area in recent times. In the first incident, the victim of the attack passed on.  

A passerby, who found him lying helplessly in the bush, discovered the critically injured Ngarange man on Saturday.

The victim was referred to Letsholathebe Primary Hospital in Maun.  He sustained multiple fractures on his body.

According to senior superintendent, Peter Gochela of Maun Police, assessment of the scene of the attack led to the suspicion that an elephant might have attacked the victim.

Gochela said the incidence of human and wildlife conflict in the area particularly where elephants attack humans have grown tremendously since last year.  

He said poachers in the northwest are the major reason this problem has escalated.

“These elephants are emotionally disturbed by the sight of a human being. Whenever they see a human being they assume that they are poachers and they are going to be shot, so they ensure that they launch the attack first (to free themselves of any threat),” he said.

Gochela said investigations on the incident are ongoing to discover what could have exactly triggered the attack.

He further advised that people should walk cautiously in the bushes within the Ngarange area to prevent such as attacks by animals from taking place.

“Wild animals in the area have now become unpredictable,” Gochela said.