People around Liwonde National Park in Machinga and Mangochi Forest Reserve have commended authorities for intensifying efforts to complete errection of an electric fence around the park.
The project’s final phase, scheduled to end in December, will cover 120 kilometres (km), after covering a 90km stretch in the first phase.
In an interview on Tuesday, Anderson Chitowe, a community member from Kaudzu Village in Traditional Authority (T/A) Sitola in Machinga, said for years communities have lived in fear of animals.
“We have suffered for years, losing crops and sometimes lives. If this fence is installed, it will be a big relief for us, but only if people stop vandalising it,” he said.
| Haneeph Maulana
Chitowe said a woman from Nampesha Village in T/A Sitola was killed by a buffalo that strayed from the park while a boy from Ngasale Village in T/A Amidu in Balaka was injured by an elephant a week ago.
In a separate interview, Liwonde National Park manager Shaib Kadewere admitted that wild animals continue to stray into nearby villages, but said cases have dropped compared to the past when eight to 10 elephants could escape at once.
“Now only one or two elephants occasionally escape. For instance, this year alone, 10 animals have strayed with one or two elephants at a time and we were able to bring them back into the park,” he said.
Kadewere said the fence will help to reduce incidents of elephants and buffaloes straying into surrounding communities.
“This is not the park’s main perimeter fence which already surrounds the entire park but an electric barrier designed to keep animals inside certain areas,” he said.
Meanwhile, Senior Chief Chowe of Mangochi commended the initiative, noting that it will help reduce cases of human-animal conflicts.
