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A Nyeri man is clinging to life at Jamii Hospital in Karatina after he was attacked by two elephants which strayed into his farm. Details indicate that the attack on Charles Gichuhi Warui occurred around 7am in Mutaga village near Sagana State Lodge in Nyeri County.
Daily Nation reports that the two animals had wandered from Mt Kenya forest when they came across the victim who was working on his farm.
According to Sagana Irrigation Water Project secretary Jackson Miano, the man was saved by villagers who rushed to the scene when they heard his screams.
Miano added that there has been an increase in the cases of human-wildlife conflict in the area because the electric fence meant to keep the wild animals at bay fell apart. “The animals have been straying into our farms regularly because part of the fence has collapsed,” he said.
He disclosed that the victim was lucky to be alive because he was attacked in broad daylight which made it easy to get help from neighbours.
Elephants injured cows, destroyed food crops Apart from the attack on Warui, the elephants injured two cows and trampled over food crops worth thousands of shillings. Officers from the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) responded to the distress call and drove the elephants back into the forest.
The incident comes barely three months since another man was gored to death by a stray buffalo in the neighbouring Gikiriri village. Warui is currently admitted at Jamii Hospital with medical reports showing that he is responding well to treatment.
Human-wildlife conflict a big problem in Kenya Human-wildlife conflict has remained a thorny issue among communities living near protected areas. Last month, police officers in Kajiado opened fire and killed three protestors in Masimba who were demonstrating over wildlife invasion. The locals embarked on protests over increased wildlife attacks in the locality when the police shot dead three and injured seven others.
Kajiado Governor Joseph Ole Lenku also released a statement to console the families of the deceased persons saying their deaths could have been avoided.