Pakwach residents in panic over stray elephant

Feb 05, 2018

The stray animal is believed to have crossed the Nile through Pakwach Bridge.

PIC: An elephant has strayed from Murchison Falls National Park. Residents in Pakwach have been advised to desist from getting close to it to avoid irritating it (file photo)

PAKWACH - Residents of Pakwach district are living in fear after an elephant strayed from Murchison Falls National Park.
 
The stray animal is believed to have crossed the Nile through Pakwach Bridge. 
 
Alfred Dorombe, a resident of Pakwach town council, said the elephant crossed the bridge on Monday at about 10:00pm.
 
According to Dorombe, the elephant has been roaming in the villages on Payot and Puvungu in Pakwach town council.

He, however, said the animal has not injured anyone or spoilt properties in the area.
 
 "The elephant has created panic, given the havoc it can cause and we hope the Uganda Wild Authority (UWA) acts in time to send it back to the park," he said.
 
Steen Omito, the Pakwach district LC5 chairperson, said there was a need for UWA to intervene, noting that its presence in ungazetted places could turn fatal to the community.
 
On the other hand, the presence of the elephant has excited a some members of the community, who have gathered to follow it wherever it was heading to have domestic tourism. 
 
"It is not easy crossing to the park to see some of these animals because of the costs involved. So it is an opportunity for us to see it at a close range," James Odoch, a resident of Payoo, said. 
 
But, Emmanuel Ongeirtho, another resident, said there was a need for the residents to desist from getting close the elephant to prevent it from being irritated.

Ongeirtho argued that an elephant has a strong memory and it would return even if it was sent back the park.
 
"Our people should not irritate it by getting close to it, it may come back and retariate," he said.

Elephants in Uganda have increased by 600% to about 5,000 individuals. This is according to 2015 survey by Wildlife Conservation Society and UWA.
 
This increasing number of elephants in Murchison Falls National Park has created more trouble for communities living around it.
 
The straying elephants are destroying acres of crops for the residents, resulting in hunger. 
 
Last year, Rwoth David Onen Acana II, the Acholi paramount chief called on residents to defend their farmlands from these straying elephants by hunting and killing them since the relevant authorities had failed to come up with an immediate solution, an act UWA said was illegal.
 
Jossy Muhangi, UWA community relations manager at Murchison Falls Park said a team of experts from Problem Animal Unit had been deployed to push the elephant back the park.

He appealed to residents to be vigilant and avoid getting closer the elephant.
 

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