Uganda: Elephant kills 8 year old boy

[Nicky91]

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/UWA-on-the-spot-after-pupil-is-killed-elephant/688334-4669992-format-xhtml-i3aeek/index.html

Residents of Latoro Trading Centre, Tegot parish in Got Apwoyo Sub County, Nwoya District have been left in grief after a marauding elephant killed an eight-year-old boy on Wednesday.
Local leaders say Griffin Ayoo, a pupil of Got Apwoyo Primary school was in the company of five other pupils going to school when he was attacked by the elephant.

The Murchison Falls conservation manager, Dr Eric Enyel confirmed the attack adding that the elephant wandered from the Park into community land on Tuesday night but became aggressive in the morning when angry locals tried to force it out of their gardens.
Dr Enyel said the wild animal while fleeing away, met the boy and grabbed him with its trunk before smashing his head on the Karuma-Pakwach tarmac road.
“Locals were chasing the elephant from a garden it invaded. They were shouting as others hurled stones at it. The elephant was already frightened and when it met the boy, it just attacked him and he died on spot,” Said Dr Enyel.

According to Dr Enyel, the incident wouldn’t have happened if the locals had used peaceful means to drive it out of their gardens or called for Uganda Wildlife Authority [UWA] rangers’ intervention.

He noted that although they are trying their best to dig trenches around the park to prevent wild animals from invading non protected areas, there is need for the locals to peacefully coexist with the animals.

Dr Enyel said they are already in talks with Ayoo’s family on how best UWA can contribute towards burial expenses.

The Nwoya LCV Chairperson, Mr Patrick Okello Oryema however blamed UWA management for their alleged failure to ensure that the national park is enclosed to limit movements of wild animals into community land.

He noted that over the past years, several plantations have been destroyed by marauding wild animals from the national park adding that it has discouraged many people from practicing agriculture.

“We demand that UWA officials explore alternative measures of managing the movement of wild animals because locals are becoming victims. The elephant-human conflict is bound to escalate if nothing is done,” Mr Oryema said.

[Nicky91]

a horrible accident i call this, i blame the locals for scaring the poor animal too much, making it run away and by an unfortunate coincidence he met that innocent child

[Niamh.]

a horrible accident i call this, i blame the locals for scaring the poor animal too much, making it run away and by an unfortunate coincidence he met that innocent child

I don't think there's any blame really in this one Nicky, the Elephant was scared but I'm sure the locals were too when they found him in their garden. Hopefully they'll get some education about how to best handle a situation like that in the future. Poor kid :(

[Nicky91]

I don't think there's any blame really in this one Nicky, the Elephant was scared but I'm sure the locals were too when they found him in their garden. Hopefully they'll get some education about how to best handle a situation like that in the future. Poor kid :(

fair enough


yes they need proper education for these sort of situations

[Crimson Dynamo]

"They were shouting as others hurled stones at it."

:/

[Nicky91]

"They were shouting as others hurled stones at it."

:/

yeah that is pretty dumb to go throwing stones at an elephant

[arista]

Yes the Poor Animal under stress
Someone is in charge
and must advise the locals better

[Greg!]

Heartbreaking, isn't it.

Africa is supposed to be the cradle of civilisation, isn't it?

So one tragic incident is representative of the whole continent? :umm2:

It's Europeans and Americans mostly who go out there to delibrately kill wild animals for fun

[Livia]

So one tragic incident is representative of the whole continent? :umm2:

If only it were one incident, it wouldn't be representative, no. Sadly it's the latest in a long, long line of incidents. Have you heard elephants are endangered? It's been on the news and everything...

[Niamh.]

So one tragic incident is representative of the whole continent? :umm2:

It's Europeans and Americans mostly who go out there to delibrately kill wild animals for fun

Yeah have to agree with that, obviously throwing stones isn't the best way to deal with it but elephants are big and can be aggressive, I don't think asking it to leave and gently leading it by the trunk is going to work too well either. Elephants are allowed to be scared and to panic. Which is exactly what the humans did too

[Greg!]

If only it were one incident, it wouldn't be representative, no. Sadly it's the latest in a long, long line of incidents. Have you heard elephants are endangered? It's been on the news and everything...

I'm very well aware they're endangered thanks. I've heard about lots of Europeans/Americans going over there and killing them for no reason. Twats but I don't think they represent their entire continent

[Amy Jade]

Meh

They shouldn't have thrown rocks at it, Elephants are not aggressive unless provoked.

[Niamh.]

Meh

They shouldn't have thrown rocks at it, Elephants are not aggressive unless provoked.

Meh? Yeah the 8 year old deserved it :worry:

[Kazanne]

Poor kid,but how was the elephant allowed to 'walk out of the park' plus it only showed signs of aggression when the locals were throwing stones and shouting at it because it was in their gardens, the elephant felt threatened and did what animals do when they are scared. The adults should have known better.

[Nicky91]

Meh

They shouldn't have thrown rocks at it, Elephants are not aggressive unless provoked.

agreed, i find Elephants so cute, one of my fave animals in the world honestly

[Amy Jade]

Meh? Yeah the 8 year old deserved it :worry:

I never said the child deserved it, nor would I ever but if the people around the animal had been less aggressive towards it then this would never have happened.

[Niamh.]

I never said the child deserved it, nor would I ever but if the people around the animal had been less aggressive towards it then this would never have happened.

That's true but "meh" suggests you're not bothered by the fact that an innocent child was killed, he wasn't one of those throwing the stones either according to the article

[Nicky91]

That's true but "meh" suggests you're not bothered by the fact that an innocent child was killed, he wasn't one of those throwing the stones either according to the article

he wasn't involved in that, he only encountered the animal when it fled from the angry locals


so if they didn't throw the stones, it might've had a different ending

[Crimson Dynamo]

That's true but "meh" suggests you're not bothered by the fact that an innocent child was killed, he wasn't one of those throwing the stones either according to the article

another 42 children died that day in Uganda from malaria!

and again today and tomorrow

etc

[Nicky91]

another 42 children died that day in Uganda from malaria!

and again today and tomorrow

etc

that's something way different and offtopic from this story i think


and the answer to that problem, we need to give them medicine against malaria

[Niamh.]

another 42 children died that day in Uganda from malaria!

and again today and tomorrow

etc

so this death isn't tragic?

[Cherie]

Is that really you, I had you pegged as younger

Poor lad
Poor elephant

[Niamh.]

Anyway RIP to that poor child, someones son.

[smudgie]

Poor kid. R.I.P. :sad:

[Niamh.]

Closed for cleaning, so disrespectful to a CHILD who died here

[Livia]

One child of so many who die every day in Africa Niamh. They're all tragedies.

[Niamh.]

One child of so many who die every day in Africa Niamh. They're all tragedies.

OK?

[user104658]

Closed for cleaning, so disrespectful to a CHILD who died hereYou're not the only one who gets angry about this Niamh; some of us just express it differently. That's really the last I have to say in this thread.

[Livia]

OK?

I'm just saying that the discussion going on from the child, to the wildlife, to the hunting, to the makeup of Africa isn't disrespectful, it's debate.

[Amy Jade]

That's true but "meh" suggests you're not bothered by the fact that an innocent child was killed, he wasn't one of those throwing the stones either according to the article

'Not bothered' isn't how I feel. I probably wouldn't of commented if I didn't care. It goes without saying a child dying is sad :shrug:

But throwing rocks at an elephant was silly and the child was likely just in the wrong place sadly. I hope the elephant is not hunted as a 'killer' as to me it was drove to it.

[user104658]

'Not bothered' isn't how I feel. I probably wouldn't of commented if I didn't care. It goes without saying a child dying is sad :shrug:

But throwing rocks at an elephant was silly and the child was likely just in the wrong place sadly. I hope the elephant is not hunted as a 'killer' as to me it was drove to it.I would imagine the elephant is already dead or will indeed be killed, and I agree that that's sad... It was scared and frantic and when a large animal is in that state its inevitable that someone might be hurt or killed, in this case a child. But I do agree with what Niamh said earlier, I don't think the people are necessarily to blame either, as they would also have been scared and - possibly - had not been properly briefed about what to do in these situations, or properly informed of how dangerous these animals can become if they're attacked or threatened.

Just a tragic situation all round for the child, the animal and the community.