Elephant vs. Human

Today, is presidential election day in Mozambique.Weeks of intense campaigning for the three major political parties (Frelimo, Renamo, and MDM) have all been leading up to this day.

We knew it was going to be a big day. We didn't think it would be because of an elephant attack.

Just before noon today, a wandering elephant, descended from the nearby mountains, came across a group of kids fishing at the riverside. The kids screamed, the startled elephant charged, and the kids fled. Unfortunately, the youngest tripped and fell on the rocky riverbed, and the elephant scooped her up with his tusks and flung her onto the hot rocks. She died in the hospital shortly thereafter.

The first inkling I had that something was wrong was all the people running by our house, shouting "Ndzou! Ndzou!" (Elephant!). My colleagues were all frantically searching for their kids to make sure they were OK. In a community where everyone normally moves at a snail's pace -- why hurry when there's nowhere to go and nothing to do? -- it was weird to see so many people running all over the place. Some were running toward the elephant, some were running away.

"Stay inside!" Our colleagues said. Laura and I, of course, having heard about how dangerous elephants can be, made the responsible decision and... grabbed our cameras and went to see what all the fuss was about.

By the time we got there, the elephant was pretty far away. I saw it from a distance, a black splotch in the distant foothills. Laura went with a group of people to get closer, and I stayed behind to talk to some people about what happened.

The girl that was killed was a first grader, the youngest of four siblings. She was sickly and weak, and couldn't run well. As I walked home, I passed the family's house, surrounded by crying people with their heads in their hands. The father was sitting on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.

The death of an elephant is sad, especially in a country like Mozambique, where the majority of the wild elephants were killed during the wars. However, the heartbroken, inconsolable wailing of that girl's father was the saddest sound I've ever heard, and I understood why a bunch of men immediately went to get their guns.

Laura ended up following the hunting party, an watching them shoot and kill the elephant. It was a traumatizing experience that I'm glad I didn't witness.

The death of such a majestic creature is sad, but there were no better options. The aggressive male could have easily come back and killed more people. Additionally, the meat from the dead elephant will feed the whole village for weeks, during a time of year when many peoples food stores have run out.

They say there were three other elephants that ran away back into the mountains. I hope that they stay there, both for their own sakes and that of the Mavudzi population. Unfortunately, their world is slowly disappearing due to expanding human settlement, and this kind of tragedy will surely repeat itself.

My thoughts today are with the child's grieving family.

The dying elephant. (Photo by Laura Mandel)