Africa (Except MENA) death toll rises to seven in malawi elephant relocation project linked to prince harry ngo

[Crimson Fucker]

Death toll rises to seven in Malawi elephant relocation project linked to Prince Harry NGO

Exclusive: The animal translocation scheme by wildlife NGOs including African Parks, once headed by the royal, has been dogged by controversy

www.theguardian.com

Some paragraphs I selected:

Four more people have died after an elephant translocation overseen by two wildlife organisations, including one that was headed by Prince Harry, in a protected area in Malawi. The recent deaths bring the total fatalities connected to the relocated elephants to seven.

In July 2022, more than 250 elephants were moved from Liwonde national park in southern Malawi to the country’s second-largest protected area, Kasungu, in a three-way operation between Malawi’s national park service and two NGOs: the International Fund for Animal Welfare (Ifaw), and African Parks. Prince Harry was president of African Parks for six years, before being elevated to the board of directors from 2023.

In the days after the translocation, however, two people were killed by elephants in the area the animals were moved to, and a third person was killed in September that year. Communities warned of growing problems with human-wildlife conflict with the African mammals, which frequently raid crops.

Now, a further four people have been killed by elephants in Kasungu, bringing the total fatalities to seven, with areas of the fence still incomplete. The deaths have left several children orphaned and some families struggling to get by, the Guardian understands. Ifaw continued to raise funds using news of the translocation in 2023. The NGO said its Room to Roam initiative to protect elephants offered a solution to biodiversity loss and the climate crisis.

On the Malawian side of the park in June 2023, 31-year-old Masiye Phiri was killed and her two-year-old child was injured when they were charged by a bull elephant in a garden after a group had left the park boundaries. In August 2023, Jackson Banda was killed by an elephant, again after several elephants got out of the park. The next month, Boniface Nkhoma was attacked by elephants at night while walking on a road when the mammals had again gone beyond the park boundaries.

On the Zambian side, Andrew Phiri, 65, was killed by a bull elephant in September 2023. The Guardian was told by local sources of a fifth death but could not confirm details. Ifaw said it was aware of seven deaths since the elephants were translocated.