Elephant used for rides kills one of its handlers

A “DOMESTICATED” elephant at Zimbabwe’s main tourist resort, Victoria Falls, charged and killed one of its handlers last Saturday.

The dead man, Enock Kufandada, 50, a guide at the tourist resort, was preparing to put Mbanje, the elephant, into a paddock when it turned and charged at him, ripping his body apart.

Mbanje, who was about 30, had been giving tourists rides earlier in the day. Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority rangers were called and they shot and killed the raging elephant.

Police confirmed that Kufandada had worked at the Victoria Falls tourist company, Adventure Zone, for more then 10 years.

Kufandada’s son Shepherd said his father’s death was a “great shock” as he was the only member of the family with a job.

Brent Williamson, who owns and runs Adventure Zone, said he was also “shocked” at the turn of events as his company had been providing elephant rides for several years.

“With deep regret… our domesticated elephant bull, Mbanje, charged at one of our staff, which resulted in him losing his life.” He said Kufandada was a most “respected” staff member who worked for the company for 11 years.

Adventure Zone owned two elephants and the surviving one, which lived alongside Mbanje, is a 28-yearold cow called Nkanyezi. He said Mbanje originally came from the National Parks culling programme.

Glynnis Vaughan, chief inspector of the Zimbabwe National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ZNSPCA) disputes that African elephants are ever “domesticated”. “Captured elephants which were used by several tourist companies have killed quite a few people in recent years. Teaching a young elephant to get on to its knees so people can mount it is vicious, it’s cruel.”

ZNSPCA went to court more then 10 years ago and successfully prosecuted an elephant capturer and a major tourist company in Vic Falls which was buying young elephants to domesticate them for rides for tourists.

Several large companies in Victoria Falls still provide elephant rides for tourists.

Tragically, another two elephants which roamed around Mutare, the provincial capital in eastern Zimbabwe, were shot dead yesterday by government rangers after they killed a policeman last week.

Zimbabwe has tens of thousands of elephants, mostly in the west and the south of the country, more then its wild life areas can cope with, given many recent droughts, and poachers have made huge parts of north-eastern Zimbabwe hostile territory for elephants.

In the last few years, bankrupt Zim has exported scores of young elephants to China. ZNSPCA recently inspected some quarantine areas in China where Zimbabwe elephants were held and has condemned them. – Independent Foreign Service

TEACHING A YOUNG ELEPHANT TO GET ON ITS KNEES SO PEOPLE CAN MOUNT IT IS VICIOUS, IT’S CRUEL