By Elmon Tshikhudo and Andries van Zyl
Stray elephants crossing from Zimbabwe may have caused the death of a South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldier stationed near Musina. Private Xavier Raynard (33) was apparently trampled by a herd of elephants on the Malala drift road, near the banks of the Limpopo River.
The incident occurred on Sunday morning, 27 July, approximately 300 metres from the SANDF's Madimbo operational base, where Raynard was deployed. He was attached to the 10 Anti-Aircraft Regiment and had been operating under Operation Corona, a national border-safeguarding initiative aimed at tackling transnational crimes.
In a statement, the SANDF confirmed that an investigation into the incident is under way, in cooperation with environmental and wildlife authorities. A formal board of inquiry has been initiated. Raynard's next of kin, from Kimberley in the Northern Cape, have been notified, and psychosocial support is being provided to both his family and fellow unit members.
Spokesperson for the SAPS in Vhembe W/O Vuledzani Dathi confirmed that an inquest docket had been opened. "Police were busy with their daily duties when a military ambulance arrived at about 12:30 at the Tshamutumbu Police Station. On entering the station, they reported that they were having the deceased at the back of the vehicle and that he was found lying dead in the road with his broken rifle next to him," he said.
Dathi added that the soldiers reported being in the process of retrieving Raynard's body when a herd of elephants charged at them. "But they quickly loaded the deceased in the ambulance and drove away to the police station," he said.
Raynard was alone at the time of the incident. He had apparently gone jogging and was not on active duty. The reason why he had his rifle with him was that they are not allowed to go anywhere without it while out on deployment.
Chairperson of the Vhembe Business Forum Against Crime Mr Philemon Munyai described the incident as a blow to efforts to combat crime in the region. "As a forum, we have a good working relationship with the military, which is always available when we conduct crime-prevention operations," he said.
"Elephants are a big problem in this area, and the worst part is that they are from the neighbouring Zimbabwe. The elephants are very hostile as they have calves with them. We are just consoled that environment officials are already on the ground hunting them. Our plea is to the community not to venture into the bushes as that might add to the casualties," Munyai said.
The Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (LEDET) responded, saying that it was saddened by the incident. "Elephants from Zimbabwe and Botswana usually arrive within our country around this time [of the year] as part of their annual migration. They then travel back to their respective countries after the first rains," the statement reads.
LEDET's spokesperson, Mr Zaid Kalla, said that the herd presumably responsible for the attack included young elephants that were still vulnerable within their habitat. "The mature elephants are constantly vigilant and overprotective of both the calves and the herd as a whole."
LEDET has sent a team of rangers to the area to monitor the herd and attempt to lead it back across the border, Kalla said.
Incidents involving stray elephants have become increasingly common. In May this year, a 68-year-old woman was trampled to death by a herd of elephants near the Sirheni Bushveld Camp. The situation is reportedly worse along the border areas with Zimbabwe and Botswana, where elephant herds regularly cross the Limpopo River in search of safer habitats.
Lauren Liebenberg from the Vhembe Biosphere Reserve described the situation as critical, citing pressure from hunting in neighbouring countries as a possible cause for the increase in cross-border wildlife movement.
"This time of year the crisis situation with the elephant populations that roam the Limpopo River Valley intensifies. There are big-game hunting operators on the Zimbabwe 'Dite 2 Wildlife Management Area' on the other side of the Limpopo River (South African outfitters who buy concessions there) and when elephant hunting starts in the dry season (when resources are scarce and the wildlife populations are stressed anyway), they come across the Limpopo River (in low flow this time of year) in huge numbers. Because there just isn't enough habitat left and it's fragmenting and because they are distressed, we become a massive human/wildlife conflict zone," said Liebenberg.
According to Liebenberg, this situation causes major animal-human conflict, with border residents doing anything they can to deter the elephant incursions onto their property – such as burning tyres, patrolling through the night, detonating firecrackers, and driving the herds by helicopter back to Zimbabwe, etc. "And the elephants become ever more distressed. It's a terrible and sad situation. We desperately need a well-managed, properly integrated migration corridor and more habitat secured," said Liebenberg.
Regarding this, Living Limpopo and the Vhembe Biosphere Reserve are working with major international conservation organisations to establish the Great Vhembe Conservation Area Limpopo River Corridor. "It's a very ambitious project, but we must succeed," said Liebenberg.
Liebenberg said the situation was really critical, adding that the problem was complex and had no simple solutions. "But the pressure can be relieved – it demands bold thinking and action, though. I think it's high time that South Africa held a summit on the elephant issue instead of avoiding it while an already desperate situation worsens," said Liebenberg.
To achieve this, Liebenberg said that they needed all major stakeholders involved – government and non-government alike: SANParks; Peace Parks and the TFCAs; DFFE; provincial government; the biosphere reserve; and all the major NGOs.
"And decisions and action plans formulated at every level of the problem, from expanding protected areas and habitat, creating functioning mitigation corridors to address fragmentation, reducing human-wildlife conflict with appropriate interventions at the interface/buffer zones; and yes, confronting the hyper-sensitive population-management question in a context where there is finite habitat left for this keystone species. It is a huge challenge but one that South Africa's conservation sector is capable of rising to," said Liebenberg.