For Vivian Masuku, the pain of losing her father has never really gone away.

In 2015, her life changed when her father, Alphas Masuku, was killed by an elephant while making his way home from Fuller Forest.

Vivian is one of five children. By then, the family had already lost their mother, leaving their father as the only surviving parent.

“I am my father’s third child.”

“In a family of five children.”

“We had already lost our mother, leaving our father as the only surviving parent.”

A journey home that never ended

Masuku, then 65, had worked for the Forestry Commission for many years as a clerk at Fuller Forest before retiring.

Vivian says he had returned to the area to collect his pension funds and his remaining belongings before making his way home.

“My father worked for the commission.”

“He had gone there to sort his pension funds and his remaining belongings before returning home.”

On his journey back to the family homestead in Lupinyo, tragedy struck.

Vivian says the attack happened about four kilometres from their homestead, in the area between Lupinyo and the Forest Commission area.

It was around 6:30 in the evening, Police then said.

According to Vivian, a man travelling behind her father witnessed the attack.

“He tried to run away, but the elephant continued to follow him.”

“A man walking behind him witnessed how everything unfolded.”

“He saw the elephant lift him up and slam him to the ground, killing him instantly.”

Masuku did not survive. His companion escaped unharmed.

For the family, the next call came from police.

“We were called by the police, who came to collect us.”

Vivian says when they arrived, they were confronted with the reality of what had happened.

“The police placed his remains in a metal coffin.”

It is a memory she still struggles to speak about years later.

The home he left behind

Masuku’s death was not only the loss of a father. It changed the future of the family he had been supporting.

With their mother already gone and the children still young, the family lost its last surviving parent.

The homestead he had built, once intended to be a place where the family could live together, was eventually left empty.

“After his death, everything was destroyed.”

“There was no one to rebuild what he had built for the family to return and live in.”

Today, the Masuku homestead stands as a reminder of that loss.

Structures have deteriorated, and the once-active family home no longer carries the same life it once did.

Vivian says her younger sibling is now trying to carry on with the homestead after their father’s death.

A promise of compensation

For the family, the loss was followed by a promise that brought hope — but, according to Vivian, no fulfilment.

She says the forestry authorities promised the family compensation following her father’s death.

“The forestry authorities promised to give us the money.”

But the years have passed.

For Vivian, the issue is not simply about money. It is about recognition and support for families left behind after human-wildlife conflict.

A wider struggle

Masuku’s story is part of a much broader problem confronting communities living alongside wildlife.

Vivian says people continue to live in fear as wild animals destroy crops and attack livestock.

“We are constantly living in fear because these wild animals destroy our crops whenever we plant.”

She says livestock losses are also becoming increasingly difficult for rural families to absorb.

“lions are killing our cattle, making it difficult to keep livestock.”

Vivian questions how communities are expected to protect themselves and their livelihoods when dangerous animals enter their areas.

“Who authorized the protection of these animals when they are killing our people?”

She says communities would like greater ability to respond when animals threaten lives and livestock.

“We would like to be allowed to deal with problem animals, such as lions, when they threaten our lives and livestock.”

But she says villagers risk arrest if they kill protected animals.

“But we are not allowed to kill them. If we do, we risk being arrested.”

The numbers behind the stories

The experiences described by Vivian are reflected in national human-wildlife conflict statistics provided by the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, ZimParks.

Between 2020 and October 2025, 340 people were killed and 444 injured in human-wildlife conflict incidents across Zimbabwe.

In 2025 alone, 62 people were killed by wildlife, according to the ZimParks figures provided to VicFallsLive.

The impact also extends to livestock.

Between 2020 and October 2025, wildlife killed 952 cattle, 152 donkeys and 1,495 goats across Zimbabwe, according to the same statistics.

In 2025 alone, the figures recorded 153 cattle, 27 donkeys and 280 goats killed by wild animals.

Behind those numbers are families who depend on livestock for food, income and school expenses.

Who benefits from wildlife?

Vivian also questions whether communities living alongside wildlife receive enough benefit from conservation.

“The problem is that ZimParks rangers take everything.”

“Even when they kill a problem animal, ZimParks rangers take everything, including the meat.”

She says villagers feel excluded from the benefits of wildlife around them.

“Villagers are not benefiting from the wildlife at all.”

However, Vivian also acknowledges uncertainty about whether the removal of meat is legally permitted.

“They often take everything, including the meat. I’m not sure whether they are legally allowed to do that.”

More than a wildlife story

For Vivian, Alphas Masuku’s death is not simply a story about an elephant attack.

It is about what happens to the people left behind.

It is about children who lose parents, homes that fall apart, families that wait for compensation, and communities trying to protect both their lives and livelihoods while living alongside wildlife.

Their demands are broader than compensation alone.

They include safer coexistence measures, meaningful support for victims and their families, counselling and psychosocial support, and dignity for those left behind.

Masuku’s story began with a journey home in 2015.

But the consequences of his death have continued for years.

This was Living Alongside — one story at a time.