April 9, 2010
Nyasa Times

Elephants have damaged 28 gardens and six houses in the areas of Ndombole and Chatama in Mangochi District in the Southern Region and also terrorised communities in the Central Region district of Salima.

The marauding elephants that sneaked out from Liwonde National Park have damaged crop fields of maize, rice and cotton, according to Member of Parliament from Chatama in Mangochi Yaumi Mpaweni.

“It is a sad development because the only food these people were relying on has been damaged,” said Mpaweni, who urged government to come to the rescue of the victims.

About 15 villages have been hit. Some of the villages are Milala, Chikalago, Agalanje and Gopole.

However, the parliamentarian also urged government to send enough game rangers to arrest the terror in the areas.

Mpaweni said lately things had gone out of hands because there were only three rangers who have been tasked to control the elephants.

“We need urgent attention before these dangerous animals start killing people. These people need to be indemnified because they have lost a lot,” he said

The national park relies on one battery for its electric barbed-wire fence to operate, according to inside park sources. It is reported that the elephants sneaked out due to a dysfunctional fence.

In Salima, District Commissioner Gift Rapozo said elephants had damaged maize fields in parts of Traditional Authorities Kalonga and Kambwiri.

A total of 11 villages have been affected, Rapozo said.

This is harvest time in Malawi and wild animals are on food hunt in the gardens.

http://www.nyasatimes.com/national/elephants-damage-crops-in-mangochi-terrorise-salima.html