Early Christmas for Zaka villagers, as stray elephants end up as relish
Brian Rungano Temba
Yesterday the people of Chiteni Village under Chief Ndanga in Zaka had an unplanned feast after two elephants which had strayed into their area were shot and killed by the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority.
Two elephants were spotted loitering in the area and alert villagers informed the police who immediately escalated the issue to Zimparks.
Zimparks rangers who were called shot the two elephants, which had stayed from the Save Valley Conservancy, immediately after locating them.
When elephants stray from their enclosures, they become rogue and are likely to return with more rage along the paths they would have walked.
Elephants have an impeccable memory, they can remember minute details for as long as 50 years.
An adult elephant weighs around 6000 kilograms, depending on how long it has lived.
It is because of this reason, anyone who walks into any household in Chiteni Village is likely to encounter a rack full of strands of meat surgically sliced to sun dry under the famed Zaka sun.
Winter is known for its challenges with relish, and this is when grandmothers prepare dried vegetables.
In Zaka, they have stories to tell generations about the winter where their jaws were exercised to capacity.
Proud Mzizi, an officer from Zaka Police said the elephants were slaughtered and the meat was given to the villagers.
“Tusks and other important parts were taken by the Zimparks team,” said Mzizi.
Zimparks team was led by Mr Callisto Chirimudombo distributed the meat to the 31 surrounding villages with the assistance of the local headman, the Chief and the DDC’s office.
According to Assistant District Development Coordinator Mr Victor Zinanga, Zimparks reacted promptly after the distress call from villagers.
“Two elephants were spotted alongside Nyabise River early in the morning.
Fortunately the elephants were not hostile and the Department of Parks and Wildlife reacted swiftly and killed them,” said Zinanga.
Mr Zinanga said about 1000 households got the share of the meat, and nearby institutions such as Ndanga Hospital, Chimedza and Chitonhora Schools were also considered.
The meat was in the region of 12 000 kilograms and villagers were criss-crossing with dishes and buckets carrying relish enough to last them for months.
Despite the joy, there is worry in the area that due to its proximity to Save Conservancy one of the largest game reserves in Africa, one day the villagers are going to fall prey to the animals.
Animals follow Nyabise River, until they reach Zaka.
The Save Valley Conservancy is located in the Southern Eastern lowveld of Zimbabwe, bordering Save River on its side.
The Conservancy comprises 750 000 acres of diverse wildlife habitat.
The Save Valley Conservancy (SVC) consists of privately owned properties, Government owned, and community owned properties that are aligned under a constitution to manage animal populations on a landscape scale.
Recently, a lion has been reported to have killed a cow in Chinoda Village under headman Zibhowa.
A team from Parks is still hunting for the predator.
In addition, the four buffaloes that were found loitering in Dekeza Village were driven back to the conservancies by the Parks.
Last year, a nine year old boy from Benzi Village under headman Dzoro, was bitten by a hyena around midnight at a church shrine.
He was sleeping with other children from his village at the shrine.
Although it is consolation for their troubles, the people of feasting on their meat with anxiety as they do not know when next they will have unfamiliar visitors and they can become statistics in the problematic human-wildlife conflict.
This year alone, 60 people have already died as a result of human-wildlife conflict.
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