The escalating human-wildlife conflict in Livingstone, Zambia, particularly around Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park, poses a growing threat as elephants and hippos stray into human settlements, causing injuries and deaths.
Boyd Namushi, a 47-year-old father of seven from Livingstone’s Nakatindi Ward, vividly remembers the chilling roar—”kweeeee!”—that signaled a life-threatening encounter with an elephant.
On his way home to Mall-Light around 17:30, he unknowingly crossed paths with a herd. One elephant trailed him before launching a sudden attack, knocking him to the ground and piercing his armpit with its tusks, breaking his collarbone.
“I lost consciousness,” Namushi recalls. He was severely injured and hospitalised at Livingstone University Teaching Hospital from October 22 to December 8, 2024.
Dambwa Site resident Emeldah Hakata confirms frequent sightings of elephants and hippos in the area.
“We see them in our community. Just two weeks ago, a man was killed by a hippo here,” she said while having nshima with soya chunks under a small tree.
Hakata also expressed frustration over the delayed installation of a promised wire fence around the park.
“The authorities assured us they would install it, but they only dug the pole holes months ago, and since then, nothing has been done,” she alleged.
Official sources report that at least 12 people in Livingstone and Kazungula lost their lives to elephant attacks in 2024 alone, with most incidents happening at night, often involving intoxicated victims.
Among those who lost their lives during this period were Simonda Chaluba (45) of Kashitu Extension Compound, killed on November 27 at around 03:00; Patrick Libuku Singongi (43) of Nakatindi Compound, attacked on November 3 at 23:20; and Violet Nyambe (45) of Sawmills Compound, who was fatally attacked in Cold Storage Compound on November 17 at 19:00hrs.
According to Southern Province Police Commissioner Auxensio Daka, all three victims were allegedly returning from drinking sprees when they were attacked.
Tourism Minister and Livingstone Constituency Member of Parliament, Rodney Sikumba expressed deep concern over the sharp rise in elephant-related deaths in Kazungula and Livingstone, which increased from two in 2023 to 12 in 2024.
Speaking at the Human-Elephant Coexistence Campaign launch on December 18, 2024, Sikumba noted that 90% of victims were attacked at night while intoxicated.
He urged local councils to stop indiscriminate land allocation, warning that human settlements dangerously close to Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park were fuelling the conflict.
“Yes, you want revenue from land rates, but you cannot allocate land anywhere. Here in Nakatindi, the park and the community are only separated by a single stride—do you think there won’t be conflict?” he questioned, physically demonstrating the proximity.
The minister also emphasised the need for community wildlife scouts to support the Department of National Parks and Wildlife in sensitising residents and discouraging them from provoking elephants.
“We are not sitting idly as a government, watching people die or lose crops. That’s why we invest heavily in programs like the Farmer Input Support Program (FISP),” he stated, dismissing claims that the government prioritizes wildlife over human lives.
While residents blame wild animals for the attacks, human activities are also a contributing factor. A visit to Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park revealed that a private school has been built just three metres from the park’s boundary, with residential houses also within the same radius.
However, the Zambia Wildlife Act No. 14 of 2015 prohibits the construction of any structures within 500 metres of a national park boundary—a regulation designed to mitigate human-wildlife conflict and protect the park’s ecosystems.
The Department of National Parks and Wildlife has yet to respond to MakanDay’s request for comment.
However, Nakatindi Ward Councillor Jackson Hang’ombe, whose jurisdiction includes part of Zambia’s smallest national park, notes that human encroachment has worsened the situation.
“Some houses are built just a metre away from the park’s wire fence,” he disclosed.
Hang’ombe added that vandalism of the park’s fence has contributed to the rising cases of human-wildlife conflict in the area.
But World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) – Zambia Wildlife Programme Lead, Teddy Mukula, has urged residents to avoid provoking elephants, as this often leads to defensive retaliation.
“There are several elephant behaviors we need to understand. When provoked, elephants will retaliate to defend themselves,” he warned.
Mukula stressed that learning and respecting elephant behaviour is essential for ensuring peaceful human-wildlife coexistence.
Livingstone City Mayor Constance Muleabai was contacted for comment on the encroachment of Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park but had not responded by press time.
However, in a Facebook statement posted two days later, Ms. Muleabai attributed the increasing human-wildlife conflict to the growing demand for land conversion into settlements, agriculture, and infrastructure development driven by Livingstone’s expanding population.
“This expansion has the potential to obstruct the migratory routes of elephants, causing them to disperse into areas they have not traditionally visited, which may lead to human-wildlife conflict,” she explained.
Her 12-paragraph statement also revealed that the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) has established a Problem Animal Control Unit (PACU), staffed with 24/7 officers to provide rapid response to reported wildlife incidents.
While government initiatives such as the Problem Animal Control Unit (PACU), fencing projects, and community sensitisation efforts are steps in the right direction, victims like Namushi believe more needs to be done to protect both human lives and wildlife.
An artist by trade, Namushi says the attack has left him unable to craft curios for sale, affecting his livelihood and his family’s well-being.
Source: Elephants and Hippos Threaten Lives of Livingstone Residents (31/03/2025)
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