Photo: Timothy A. Gonsalves / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Taken 11 July 2023; file photo, not from the events reported here.

ZAMBIA · WILDLIFE

Zambia has recorded 83 deaths and 77 injuries from clashes between people and wildlife so far this year, the government told parliament on Tuesday 10 November 2026. Tourism Minister Princess Kasune delivered the statement to the National Assembly, Zambia’s parliament, and said the country had logged 8,406 cases as of September.

Human-wildlife conflict means encounters in which wild animals injure or kill people or damage property. The figures below come from the minister’s statement as reported by a Zambian newspaper, and we have not been able to check them against the Assembly record.

What the Minister Told Parliament

The minister said incidents fell from 21,442 in 2022 to 16,512 in 2025, and injuries fell from 293 in 2021 to 123 in 2025. Deaths moved the other way, rising from 101 in 2021 to 127 in 2025, with fluctuations recorded in fatalities.

So the 83 deaths recorded so far this year compare with 127 for the whole of 2025. The statement spoke of fluctuations towards a declining trend in incidents and injuries, and of fluctuations in fatalities.

The 8,406 cases run only to September, so they cannot be set against full-year totals. The same would hold for the 83 deaths if they stop at September, which the report does not say.

Elephants in South Luangwa National Park, in eastern Zambia. File photo by Lightonphiri, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0), dated 29 November 2017 in the file data; it does not show the events in this report.

What Is Not Known

The report we read does not give a breakdown by animal, province or cause, and the part of the statement after the September figure was not available to us. We cannot say whether the 83 deaths are counted to September or to a later date.

Because we have not seen the Assembly record, we present the figures as the minister’s reported statement. They should not be read as confirmed data.

What It Means for Visitors and Residents

For travellers, the figures are national totals and do not say where the deaths happened, so they are not a guide to risk at any one park. In our view, families living near protected areas should watch the rise in deaths more closely than the fall in incidents.

Read more on who holds power in Zambia and on how Kenya and Tanzania guard shared wildlife.

More: Zambia news in English, every day from The Rio Times.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many people died in human-wildlife conflict in Zambia this year?

Tourism Minister Princess Kasune told the National Assembly on 10 November 2026 that 83 people were killed and 77 injured so far this year. We have not checked the figure against the Assembly record.

Are human-wildlife conflicts in Zambia rising or falling?

Incidents fell from 21,442 in 2022 to 16,512 in 2025, the minister said. Deaths rose from 101 in 2021 to 127 in 2025.

Sources: Statement by Tourism Minister Princess Kasune to the National Assembly of Zambia, Tuesday 10 November 2026, as reported by a Zambian newspaper on 11 November 2026 (the Assembly record was not available to us).

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