The Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism (MEFT) has confirmed the presence of elephants in the vicinity of the town of Katima Mulilo in the Zambezi region, cautioning residents to take extra care.

The ministry’s Public Relations Officer, Romeo Muyunda, in an interview with Nampa on Tuesday said the elephants have been observed in the vicinity of the town since Monday morning.

“A number of reports of their tracks in people’s houses have been received as well as reports of them destroying people’s house fences,” he said.

He said the elephants are believed to have migrated from Zambia as they normally do on an annual basis and cautioned residents to be on the lookout for the animals.

Muyunda added that wardens from the ministry are on standby to respond to any situation that might occur.

“The mere fact that the elephants are close to people’s homes it is always a challenge in terms of driving them away but the staff members are there to monitor and see how the elephants will move. If we drive them away, we might drive them in somebody’s house, therefore we are really cautious on how we are going to handle them so that we don’t end up causing a lot of problems as a result,” said Muyunda.

Source: Namibia Press Agency