Three people killed by rogue buffalo in Zimbabwe

May 7, 2007, 7:07 GMT

Harare - A rogue buffalo killed three people in Zimbabwe's wildlife-rich Zambezi Valley, including a husband and wife working in their fields, a newspaper reported Monday.

Thirty-three-year-old Adam Wesile was killed as he tried to rescue his wife Felistas from the buffalo in their cotton field in Mushumbi, northern Zimbabwe, said the Herald.

'When they saw (the buffalo), the couple believed it was a cow resulting in the woman advancing towards it, intending to drive the beast away,' the paper reported police spokesman Michael Munyikwa as saying.

It was, however, too late for the woman to run away when she realised it was a buffalo, the paper said.

She was killed on the spot, and her husband was injured as he tried to rescue her. He died after being admitted to the nearby Guruve hospital, the paper said.

Another 25-year-old man identified only as Chimanga was killed by the buffalo on the same day while collecting firewood, the Herald said. It did not specify when the attacks took place.

The buffalo is still on the loose and police have warned villagers in the area to be careful. Game rangers are trying to hunt down the animal, the paper said.

There are regular cases of people being killed by wild animals here, especially elephants, crocodiles and buffaloes.