Residents of Sigonde village, about 90 km east of Musina, are living in fear after a herd of stray elephants invaded their fields and destroyed crops and property over two consecutive days.
The elephants reportedly entered the village on Thursday night, 5 March, and returned the next morning, leaving a trail of destruction. Maize and watermelon fields ready for harvest were trampled, while several fences were broken as the animals forced their way into homesteads in search of food.
Community members believe the elephants may have entered the village through a damaged border fence along the Limpopo River. The area lies close to the borders of Zimbabwe and the Kruger National Park, from where the animals are suspected to have strayed. Residents say elephants often appear during harvest season when crops are ripe.
One of the villagers who lost a significant portion of his harvest is Mr Takalani Mutele.
“It was around 21:00 when we heard the dogs barking followed by heavy footsteps,” he said. “We knew it was the elephants, as they have come here before, and nobody dared go outside. When we woke up in the morning it was chaos. The elephants had smashed through a fence before entering the yard and feasting on ripe maize cobs and watermelons.”
Mutele said residents now feared for their safety.
“…what worries us most is that they are still roaming the area. People are now living in fear because the next time they come, they might harm someone. We have reported this to our local traditional leader, and we are appealing to the Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism to urgently send officials to help remove these animals from our village,” he said.
Some residents say the destruction has discouraged them from farming altogether. Ndivhuwo Kwinda decided not to plant crops this year after suffering heavy losses in the past.
“The elephant that I saw was very huge. We are now even scared to sleep at night because it might come into the yard … It is painful to see others eating the fruits of their toil while I have nothing because of these elephants. Something needs to be done about them,” she said.
Limpopo Mirror sent a query to the department’s spokesperson, Mr Zaid Kalla, but no response had been received at the time of going to print.