250 Elephants Flee Boko Haram Conflict For Safety In Borno Council
250 Elephants Flee Boko Haram Conflict For Safety In Borno Council
By Tada Jutha, Maiduguri
About 250 endangered elephants in the Lake Chad region have fled the troubled region for their dear lives. The menacing Boko Haram insurgency in the conflict zone is said to be endangering the lives of the elephants.
The fleeing elephants have found their ways into Kala/Balge Local Government Area of Borno State.
The elephants that were sighted by local farmers, were said to have migrated in herds from Cameroon and Chad forests to Kala/Balge border community.
While announcing sighting of migratory mammals on Wednesday in Maiduguri, Borno state Director of Forest and Wildlife, Peter Ayuba disclosed that the elephants showed face last December, before returning to twin border countries in last quarter of 2020.
“The elephants have returned to North-East region at risks of Boko Haram insurgency’’, he said, warning that they may be potential threats to local farmers as they begin to harvest crops.
Ayuba notes that it was the first sighting of special wild animals in region, since outbreak of insurgency in Borno state on July 29, 2009.
“Now they are back, and the villagers estimate there are even more of them this time”, he said, adding that the fleeing elephants are in border community of Kala/Balge that suffered several attacks, including January 17, 2017 accidental attack on an IDP camp by Nigerian Air Force (NAF) fighter jet.
