HUMAN-ELEPHANT CONFLICT
Meet Miracle Elephant-Attack Survivor Biggie Shoko
An early-morning walk to work became a fight for survival when an elephant bull knocked Biggie Shoko to the ground and trampled him near Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park.
The African Elephant Ivory News Hub brings you news updates on elephants and ivory. We report on who holds and manages these natural resources, the challenges they face and the African communities whose tolerance makes elephant conservation possible - despite the immense human and economic costs of coexistence.
A walk to work becomes a fight for life
It was early morning when Biggie Shoko left home for work, walking through the wild and peaceful surroundings that tourists from around the world pay to experience.
Suddenly, a powerful elephant swept him off the ground with its trunk and slammed him onto the hard earth. Acting on instinct, the huge animal began trampling him as his cries rang out.
“As the huge elephant bull was stomping on me, I started crying and screaming: 'Hey, elephant, leave me alone. I want to work for my family.' Then the bull left me alone.”
“I was attacked by an elephant while walking to work early in the morning,” Shoko said. “Passers-by rushed me to Hwange Hospital, where I spent days. I still do not know how I survived that elephant attack, and I live in fear that the bull might strike again.”
In an interview, Shoko's wife and daughter said they were relieved that he had survived, recovered from his injuries and returned to work. Life would have been extremely difficult without him, the family's only breadwinner.
The daily cost of coexistence
Shoko was fortunate to survive. Other elephant-attack victims are killed, leaving behind widows and orphans. Some sustain injuries that permanently disable them, making it impossible to care for themselves and their families.
In other cases, elephants wipe out entire crop fields and leave households facing hunger. This is the daily reality for African communities that share land with elephants.
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