A woman from Number 3 Makwika Village in Hwange, Matabeleland North Province, who is believed to be in her 40s, was airlifted to Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo after being attacked by an elephant.
Loveness Ncube was reportedly picking charcoal from an old mine dumpsite when the elephant attacked her, breaking her spine.
Ncube was first taken to St Patrick’s Hospital, but her condition was critical, so she was later transferred to the hospital in Bulawayo.
The director of the Green Shango Environment Trust, Daniel Sithole, posted on X (social media) that human-wildlife conflicts will increase due to climate change. Said Sithole:
A sad event occurred in Hwange when an elephant tramped Loveness Ncube. This emphasises how urgently the bill needs to be amended in order to assist those who have been harmed by conflicts between people and wildlife.
For her transfer to Bulawayo, she is having difficulty raising the ambulance fees. The fact that wild animals have an ambulance but human victims do not have one is shocking. These conflicts will only grow more frequent as climate change becomes more severe.
Women Coalition of Zimbabwe chapter chairperson for Hwange Sithembinkosi Ndlovu said women are at higher risk as they fend for families. She said (via Chronicle):
There is a need to hold people involved accountable but authorities would argue that she was trespassing in a private concession area.
So as women, we would like to say they should prioritise life so that at least she gets treatment since she is not a Hwange Colliery employee who can access services at the Colliery Hospital.
The Parks and Wildlife Management Bill whose provisions will be compensation in such circumstances is still being debated so such cases may not even get help.
We also want to put it that proposals for victims to apply for the fund will not work because the person who needs help will be bedridden and in urgent need of treatment.
The animals are wandering into areas where people live because the bush has been taken over by open-pit mining, especially in the Table Mine area.
This has blocked the paths that the animals used to move through, causing more conflicts between people and wild animals.
