A 60-year-old woman was trampled to death by wild elephants in western Tanzania’s district of Kalambo, local leaders said on Monday.
Alfred Mpandasharo, a ward councillor in the district said that the incident happened around 10 am (local time) when the victim, identified as Maria Sekaye of Ilambila village, was coming back from her maize farm.
He said that the woman met with a group of elephants believed to have come from Lwafi Game Reserve located along the Tanzania-Zambia road.
Mpandasharo said that the victim went to attend to her farm which was destroyed by elephants on the previous day.
“As she was coming back home she met with the elephants, which seemed to be angry after being chased by young men in the village,’’ he said.
He added that the young men were trying to chase the large mammals out of the village for the safety of their crops.
“So, when they met with the victim, the elephants attacked her and trampled her to death,’’ the local leader added.
Julieth Binyura, Kalambo District Commissioner confirmed the incident, warning people in the area to stop from chasing elephants whenever they storm into their areas, as the move might put them at risk.
“People shouldn’t dare to scare wild animals like elephants, they should wait for experts to do so,’’ Binyura said.
She revealed that the affected village is among the villages which are located on the wildlife corridors, areas of habitat connecting wildlife populations separated by human activities or structures.
“It has been a common thing for villages of Sundu, Mkowe, Ilambila, and Katete to be attacked by elephants.
“Because they are located in the wildlife corridors whereby wild animals use it when they migrate to Zambia and later come back to Lwafi game reserve,’’ she noted.
Binyura further discouraged farmers to farm in wildlife corridors as it is too dangerous because wild animals are completely unexpected.
