At least 70 elephants are still roaming parts of Kitgum District, raising fresh fears among farmers whose crops have already been destroyed as authorities urge residents to remain vigilant and avoid confronting the animals.
The elephants have been sighted in several parts of Chua East and other areas of the district this week despite ongoing efforts by security personnel and Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) rangers to drive them away from communities.
Geoffrey Oguti, the Kitgum Assistant Resident District Commissioner, says about 40 elephants were sighted on Tuesday in Namokora North, while another herd estimated at between 30 and 40 animals was reported in Palubolo Parish, Ogul Village and along the Ogul-Lunganyura stretch in Orom Sub-county.
Oguti says another group was spotted around Agoromin and Lujorongole, between Ogul and Lunganyura in Orom Sub-county.
In Ladotonen, Kiteng Sub-county, authorities also found between three and five fresh elephant footprints, which Oguti says could indicate the movement of animals that recently left Mucwini.
For farmers, the continued presence of the elephants is more than a wildlife concern.
It is threatening the little food and income families have managed to produce amid an ongoing drought.
Herbert Richard Odongo, the LCIII Chairperson of Mucwini East, says elephants destroyed about 35 acres of crops in the area last week, including bananas, cassava and simsim.
The latest sightings have renewed concerns among communities in Kitgum living near wildlife corridors, where repeated elephant incursions have destroyed crops, threatened household food supplies and left farmers increasingly afraid to access their gardens.
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