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Ngatataek Residents in Kajiado Central Sub County are calling upon Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) to relocate elephants that have invaded their farms with devastating effects.
The residents complained that the jumbos have disrupted their day to day activities adding they fear leaving their houses lest they are attacked by the animals.
“We had to rush my mother’s burial on Saturday because we feared the elephants will come and disrupt everything.” Said Kishanto Ian, whose mother’s body was buried within an hour due to fear of attack by the jumbos.
Learning has also been greatly affected as some learners abscond classes fearing elephant attacks while the daring ones have to wait till 10 a.m. when the animals usually leave in search of water.
“Our little children have been forced to stay at home because we fear they risked attacks by the elephants on their way to school, the older ones still attend school though very late and have to go in groups accompanied by a parent,” lamented Kishanto.
“Elephants have become a menace in this area, we no longer have the freedom to walk around the village and carry out our normal activities in peace,” added a devastated resident, Nailepu Ian.
The residents claim that the jumbos posed a greater risk to women and children especially now that men are not in the homes as they have relocated in search of pasture for the cows due to the ongoing drought.
“Last week, the jumbos invaded one of the homes at night which had only women and children as men had migrated with the cattle in search of pasture. They had to stay indoors until the elephants left. We are asking KWS to quickly intervene before matters get worse,” Nailepu added.
Human-Wildlife Conflict is a common phenomenon in Kajiado County, especially during dry seasons as wild animals often change their migration patterns in search of water and pasture.
https://www.kbc.co.ke/