Durban - The Conservation and Environmental Affairs Portfolio Committee is expected to address the killing of an escaped bull elephant from the Hluhluwe Game Reserve on Monday morning.
It is understood that the elephant escaped and wondered about 15km away from the park. A chopper with rangers was sent up in the afternoon but because it was getting dark, a ranger shot and killed the elephant.
“How it got out we don’t know but it escaped quite early, and if the chopper they have on contract was scrambled on time, they could have tried to chase the elephant back into the park. By the time they got the chopper up in the air it was already past 5pm and it was starting to get dark and the elephant was apparently posing a danger to surrounding communities,” said a source.
About 15 lions escaped from the uMfolozi Game Reserve in August last year. The big cats terrorised residents of Okhukhu in Nongoma, killing their livestock.
At the time Ezemvelo spokesperson Musa Mntambo reportedly said repairs on the reserve’s damaged fence would begin, and after investigations, those who had lost cattle would be compensated.