24 Mar 2013

Crocodiles continue to terrorise farmers in Samochima by attacking their livestock.

A small stock farmer in the area, Mr Balefi Mopalo said crocodiles had in just two weeks, killed three goats, two donkeys and a cow. This, he said was worrisome as it showed that reptiles lurked closer to the river bank.

Mr Mopalo noted that there was little that farmers could do in this situation besides reporting the attacks to the wildlife officers in Shakawe.

He said to protect their livestock from further attacks, farmers have built a barrier using branches from thorny trees. However, Mr Mopalo said this was not always effective as the livestock sometimes wandered off into areas where there was no barrier.

An officer from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks in Shakawe, Mr Isaac Batsile, explained that crocodile attack on livestock were not  only confined at Samochima but widespread throughout the Okavango area.

He said the Okavango River was their territory, hence animals and human beings that came within their reach were potential victims. Mr Batsile stressed that whenever farmers reported cases of crocodile attacks, he adviced them not to allow their livestock to move along the river unattended, and to quickly drive them far away from the river after drinking.

He said since the beginning of the year, 15 cases of crocodile attacks had been recorded. However some incidents were never reported, so the figure might be high. From April to December last year, 26 cases were recorded, he said.

Crocodiles have been listed as the second most notorious animal species by the wildlife office. Topping the list is the elephant.ENDS