File photo taken on Nov. 14, 2017 shows elephants at Mikumi National Park near Morogoro, Tanzania. (Xinhua/Li Sibo)
Marauding herds of elephants destroyed at least 724 hectares of farm crops in Tanzania's southern district of Namtumbo in Ruvuma region in 2020, an official said.
DAR ES SALAAM, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Marauding herds of elephants destroyed at least 724 hectares of farm crops in Tanzania's southern district of Namtumbo in Ruvuma region in 2020, an official said on Wednesday.
Sophia Kizigo, Namtumbo district commissioner, said the elephants straying from the nearby Julius Nyerere National Park have been a thorn in the flesh to farmers.
"The jumbos killed one man between January and December 2020 apart from the destruction of the crops," Kizigo told Xinhua in a telephone interview.
File photo taken on Nov. 14, 2017 shows elephants at Mikumi National Park near Morogoro, Tanzania. (Xinhua/Li Sibo)
She said another man was injured during the period, adding that the elephants also demolished seven houses in various villages located adjacent to the national park.
Between January and February 2021, the elephants have destroyed 23 hectares of farm crops and demolished 20 houses in the district, said Kizigo.
In early February, Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said the government has started deploying game rangers to areas which suffer from raids by wild animals.
Majaliwa told parliament that the game rangers, through the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, have already been deployed to villages in Ruvuma, Simiyu and Mara regions.
Majaliwa said the increasing attacks by wild animals to the human settlements were due to a spike in wildlife population in national parks and game reserves following successful anti-poaching campaigns. ■
