Hamed is the name of an elephant that has been talked about in Ivory Coast for five years. According to the authorities, he moves from village to village and destroys plantations, huts, motorcycles and cars. Although he moved to a private reserve, N’zi River Lodge Park, in September last year, the pachyderm continues to cause damage.
as reported from Côte d’Ivoire, Jean-Luc Aplogan
In Guitri, southwest of Ivory Coast, everyone knows Hamed. Arrived alone in 2014, he has never left since and forced the population to live together. It was also the children in the region who named him Hamed.
But recently, the mastodon has torn down hangars, dismissed plantations, smashed – with its 4 tons – motorcycles and cars and emptied barrels of palm alcohol to intoxication. The water and forest services have therefore been mobilized to find a final solution to protect the animal, which belongs toa threatened species.
A local official mission began on Friday to identify several victims of the pachyderm damage. The second part of the mission is to educate the population to avoid approaching Hamed and visiting his presence areas.
Almost half of the elephants have disappeared in 30 years. A pushback technique has also been found and will be applied. It is a matter of making bricks or fences called “in peppers”, because the elephant would not support the spices.
Here, everyone has a story to tell about Hamed, who a year ago was transferred to a private 20-hectare reserve. After escaping again, it will be reintroduced there after the construction of an electrified fence is completed.
Ivory Coast, whose emblem is the elephant, does not want to lose Hamed. She makes a point of protecting the pachyderms. The country had a thousand elephants in 1990, it still has half of them today.
► Also listening: Ivory Coast: disturbing elephants
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