Barely a month after the Department of Parks and Wildlife withdrew its game rangers from Liwonde National Park, elephants have caused havoc in a number of villages in Traditional Authority (T/A) Amidu in Machinga District, residents have confirmed.
The department, through its director Brighton Kumchedwa, has confirmed having withdrawn its rangers following a concession agreement with African Parks Limited currently managing the park.
He said: “Initially we had agreed that after the transitional month of August our rangers would still be retained for assessment for a period of six months. But they were disengaged after a month and we cannot do anything about that. Those that were retained are still civil servants but on secondment because the company’s licence does not allow them to handle firearms.”
African Parks country director Patricio Ndadzela acknowledged the incidents and outlined strategies that the company has engaged to deal with the issues.
He said: “On short-term we have just brought in a helicopter to conduct patrols across the park. At the same time we have also bought some equipment such as fire crackers to be used by communities to scare the animals.”
He added that equipment for fencing has been ordered and will arrive in the country next week.
