Elderly Man Killed by Elephants Near Maun
A 77-year-old man is believed to have been fatally trampled by elephants near the Dikgatlhong settlement, on the outskirts of Maun, over the weekend. While post-mortem results are pending to officially confirm the cause of death, initial indications strongly suggest the elderly man was killed by elephants.
Maun Station Commander, Superintendent Joseph Lepodise, confirmed to The Voice that the incident was reported to his office on Sunday morning. “It appears he was killed the previous night, if not in the early hours of that morning,” stated Lepodise. He added that the deceased was discovered by a 64-year-old man who was walking from Kgantshang to the neighboring Dikgatlhong.
“The man said that during his walk, he was startled by the sight of a man lying awkwardly beside the road. Upon closer inspection, he recognized the individual. He then immediately alerted the police,” Superintendent Lepodise explained.
Unconscious and visibly severely injured, with broken ribs, the elderly man was swiftly transported to Letsholathebe II Memorial Hospital in Maun. Tragically, he was pronounced dead upon arrival. According to Lepodise, the deceased was found in an area marked by numerous elephant tracks, with signs of a struggle evident on the ground and surrounding vegetation. This area is known to be within the movement corridor of elephants, situated approximately 30 kilometers outside of Maun.
During last year’s African Dialogue on African Elephants, Botswana’s Ministry of Environment and Tourism revealed that an average of 20 people are killed or injured annually by wild animals, including elephants, in the country. The dialogue, facilitated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), took place after disagreements arose among countries regarding elephant hunting as a method of population control.
Botswana currently harbors the world’s largest elephant population, estimated at 130,000 following a 2022 aerial survey conducted by the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA-TFCA). The country advocates for elephant hunting as a means to more effectively manage its substantial herds. Elephants and other wildlife roam freely across much of the North West Districts, where a significant number of villages are located within wildlife-protected zones.
