Two killed by elephants in Zimbabwe

Two people were killed by elephants in Zimbabwe this month while there was a near attack on a child by a leopard, the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority said Wednesday.

The two adult men were killed by the jumbos in separate incidents, highlighting the existence of human-wildlife conflict in the country.

One of the deceased was a professional hunter who got killed while tracking a bull elephant together with some park rangers in the Chewore Safari Area in north western Zimbabwe while the other one was trampled to death by a jumbo in Insuza to the west of the country.

"A professional hunter was killed in the Chewore Safari Area when he allowed an elephant that was charging towards him to get close," the Parks Authority said in a statement.

The adult male trampled to death in Insuza had gone to look for his stray cattle, with the Parks Authority saying efforts were underway to track down the elephant.

Meanwhile, a parks ranger's child in Mkanga, to the north of the country, survived an attack from a leopard which had entered into his house stalking his child. The leopard was killed.

Zimbabwe, which has an overpopulation of elephants numbering about 100,000 often experiences jumbo attacks on the people and their crops. Endi