A rapid assessment of elephant attacks on people in Makame Wildlife Management Area, Tanzania

Abstract In the Tarangire ecosystem of northern Tanzania, the population of the African savannah elephant Loxodonta africana has been rising as a result of concerted protection measures and regulatory crackdowns on the international ivory trade. A pressing issue currently undermining human–wildlife coexistence is elephant attacks on people. These sometimes result in severe injuries or deaths, and concomitant retaliatory measures and decreasing tolerance for wildlife. We carried out focus group discussions with community representatives in Makame Wildlife Management Area in the south-east of the Tarangire ecosystem to quantify elephant attacks and develop context-specific recommendations for improving coexistence. Over the past 5 years, four people were killed by elephants, and two others suffered severe injuries. Elephant attacks occurred mainly at night, while people were travelling by motorbike on roads connecting villages. Although the recorded number of casualties was too small to carry out meaningful seasonal comparisons, we noted that lethal attacks took place during both wet and dry seasons. All reported incidents involved men as victims. We suggest that community members avoid traveling by motorbike at night and spearhead a locally-led initiative to clear bush (excluding free-standing trees) encroaching on main roads, as capacity allows. We further recommend that the government amend its consolation payment scheme, establish a local wildlife authority office for reporting attacks, and introduce a formal human–wildlife interaction taskforce to respond to incidents. Finally, we highlight the need for civil society organizations to help implement mitigation strategies and call for further research to enhance local understandings of elephant behavioural ecology.