BY DELISA THWALA
MBABANE– The three elephants that were spotted yesterday around areas surrounding Big Bend, moved about 25km to Mahlabatsini community near Maloma Colliery.
According to Big Game Parks Head of Conservation Jubela Reilly, the elephants moved overnight after entering Eswatini from Mozambique on Tuesday morning.
He said rangers were monitoring their movements and keeping a close eye on their movements.
“It appeared they have moved overnight as of this morning, we have not established their whereabouts. The initial report was from Big Bend, so we suspect that they entered Eswatini from Mozambique. There were signs of them at Mahlabatsini near Maloma as they moved about 25km overnight,” he said.
Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati said people should be vigilant and not come close to the bulls.
She further warned residents from the surrounding communities, where the elephants were moving towards, to contact the police if they spotted them.
Elephant Specialist John Evans said people should not at any point provoke or seek to intimidate elephants.
He said elephants are considered some of the most intelligent and emotional animals in the world, not to mention the largest mammal on land. He said as one of Africa’s big five, tourists readily seek out these gentle giants to view them in their natural habitat. But, like humans, elephants enjoy their personal space, which they prefer not to have invaded. Respecting an elephant’s territory will usually lead to positive interaction, but aggravating an elephant or getting too close can be very dangerous indeed.
“More often than not, elephants will have grown accustomed to human presence, particularly in places like the Kruger Park or Addo Elephant Park where they receive regular visits from tourists. When they are comfortable in the presence of humans, they will typically go about their daily activities and ignore your vehicle,” he said.
Slowing down as soon as one sees elephants, and not rushing up to them were some of the precautions listed by Evans that people should not do when they see an elephants
Meanwhile, late last year, 11 elephants roamed into the country and went on to cross to South Africa, through the Mananga borderline and journeyed north towards the Kruger National Park periphery.
