Farmers in Ghana’s Upper East Region has ran for safety after a wild elephant that had invaded their maize farm turned on them mid-chase, reversing what began as an attempt to drive the animal away.
Video circulating from the scene shows the elephant emerging from tall maize stalks as a farmer, having initially approached to scare it off the field, is forced to retreat when the animal advances instead.
The incident reflects a longstanding and increasingly strained pattern of human-elephant conflict in Ghana’s Upper East Region, where seasonal elephant migration along the Red Volta, White Volta, and Morago river corridors regularly brings the animals into contact with farming communities, particularly during crop-raiding periods. Maize is among the crops most frequently targeted by elephants passing through the region.
The exact location of the incident and the identities of the farmers involved have not been independently verified. It is unclear whether anyone was injured.
Ghana’s elephant population has declined sharply in recent decades, from an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 in the 1970s to roughly 900 to 1,000 today, even as continued encroachment of farmland into traditional elephant corridors keeps such encounters frequent and, at times, dangerous for both farmers and animals.
Watch the video HERE.
