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An article with
the above heading appeared in the Saturday Telegraph on 10 May 2003. It
highlights the dangers posed to tourists if they are taken out into the
bush with inexperienced or unqualified guards. Calvin Cottar is quoted
as saying "guides should have guns and know how to use them".
The following is a list of some of the people who have been killed
by elephants in the past 3 years. The Laikipia District in Kenya is
mentioned several times; this is the area where Il Ngwesi and Lewa Downs
Conservancy are located: -
1 A charging elephant killed Pauline Stratton, a
British nurse during a working holiday in Llwonde National Park,
Malawi. She was trampled to death whilst out on a walking safari.
2 Andre Klocke, a 28 year old experience
guide was gored to death by a domesticated elephant being used for riding
safaris in June 2000.
3 A German tourist
was trampled to death by an elephant in August 2001.
4 Steven Street suffered multiple injuries
after being trampled by a bull elephant whilst on safari in Botswana.
October 1999.
5 Edward Harrison was trampled to death by
an elephant in the Masai Mara in August 2000
6 A Kenyan man
was trampled to death by an elephant in the Laikipia area of Kenya in
August 2003. In the newspaper report it was claimed that elephants in
Laikipia had killed 20 people in the preceding 6 months. Juliu Kiman
of the Kenya Wildlife Service denied this but it was accepted that animal-human
conflict in the Laikipia area during July-October migration is intense.
7 Zambia – a safari
guide was killed by an elephant
8 Namibia – an American
tourist was killed by a charging elephant
9 Northern Botswana – a
group of tourists were charged by an elephant. It was shot dead
but two of the group were crushed by the elephant when it fell down
dead, causing serious injuries
10 January 2001 – an elephant killed
An American Peace Corps volunteer.
11 June 2002 – a
rampaging elephant killed Mr Jarso Dima, a father of 6.
12 Wendy Martin
– trampled and gored by an elephant at Il Ngwesi Group Ranch June
2000. Miraculously I survived.
This is by no means an exhaustive list. The details have been taken
from various newspaper reports and websites. It does, however, highlight
the view that Elephants are dangerous and can kill.
 James
Shikwati in his article "How to Protect People and Wildlife in
Kenya" writes that "right now people are out of the loop.
On average more than 15 people are killed by wild animals each year,
with the highest number of recorded deaths at 55 people in 1992. According
to the Kenya Wildlife Service, elephants cause 75% of human deaths from
wildlife. The government offers 30,000 shillings ($398) as compensation
for each person killed. The bureaucracy involved to get the compensation
may take more than 10 years. This has made the locals rightly conclude
that the government values wildlife more than people."
The
African Wildlife Foundation printed an article containing the following
statements" "The problem is getting worse, according to the
Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), particularly in the Laikipia/Samburu ecosystem.
Hardly a day goes by without a person being killed by elephants, reports
Nairobi’s East African Standard. A KWS communications officer explains
that in Laikipia, the situation has been worsened by destruction of
the Marmanet Forest, where the elephants lived"
Another
article entitled "Elephants keep Kenyan Kids Hungry and Away from
School". Source Environment News Service May 2000. This article
states "More than 300 pupils who attend Marura Primary School have
been staying at home since the schools opened in January because the
animals have been on their farms day and night. The elephants have broken
through the solar powered electric fence of Sweetwaters game reserve."
CNN
reported this story in November 1999. "Does Wildlife protection
threaten public safety?". "Sometimes people have needed protection
from the protected animals. Kenya’s agricultural regions have reported
many instances of people being maimed in attacks -- and some fatalities".
Where an elephant is involved the person under attack usually dies.
Basil
Mwakiringo of Kenya’s parliament is quoted as saying "When
it attacks our animals, when it attacks our people, we definitely have
to kill that animal. Definitely". It is been reported to me that
the elephant, which attacked me at Il Ngwesi, is known as a very bad
tempered beast and is still in the area of the Il Ngwesi Lodge.
A
very interesting article was published in July 1996 entitled "Why
are elephants attacking people" by Eddie Koch. He states, "It
is as though the animals are beginning to bite back. They are being
hunted, culled, captured, transported and shunted into small and closed
game reserves, and not enough research is being done about the impact
such practices have on these dangerous beasts. What we may be seeing
are early warning signs that conservationists may have been playing
God with the animals without anticipating the consequences".
Again,
the above articles are just examples of the many writers and researchers
who have highlighted the problems that marauding elephants can cause.
I have restricted the information contained in this document to African
elephants but there are a large number of reports of fatalities caused
by Asian elephants marauding though rural villages and reeking havoc.
As
I have stated in my leaflet, I do support Wildlife Conservation but
not when the lives of innocent people are put at risk.
Wendy Martin
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