By Xinhua
A Tanzanian official said on Monday the authorities will conduct an aerial survey to establish the number of stray elephants in villages in the country’s southern districts.
Hashim Komba, the commissioner of Nachingwea district in Lindi region, said the plan was revealed on Sunday by the Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Tourism, Mary Masanja.
Komba told Xinhua in a telephone interview that Masanja announced the plan after visiting villages in Nachingwea and Liwale districts and seeing the damage caused by stray elephants in local farms.
Komba said most of the wandering elephants that frequently invade the farms are from the Nyerere National Park.
On May 23, the Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Damas Ndumbaro, issued a warning to villages adjacent to the Nyerere National Park saying at least 200 elephants have wandered out of the park.
