16 Mar 2017

Tropical cyclone Dineo that hit Botswana recently has indeed been a bittersweet, leaving in its trail a lot of destruction in the form of damaged roads as well as displacing some people especially in the Nata/Gweta area.

Heavy downpours that ensued saw Gaborone dam spillage; breaking a decade long jinx.

Residents of Ntlhantlhe village in the Southern district have also had a fair share of disturbing effects of the cyclone albeit strange.

Just last week, some farmers spotted two crocodiles at a local dam; an incident they instantaneously reported to the police.

Principal Wildlife Ranger, Mr Mosalagae Kenewendo, confirmed this week during a kgotla meeting in Ntlhantlhe that two reptiles were seen at a local dam.

He stated however that the department was yet to establish the origin of the crocodiles which he said posed serious danger to both human beings and animals.

Crocodiles according to Mr Kenewendo are apex predators and very aggressive species capable of taking almost any animal within their range.

He further called on residents to avoid any waters around and be on high alert at all times lest their livestock fall prey to the hard biting predators.

Residents were also told any loss or damage inflicted by crocodiles was compensated for.

In addition, Mr Kenewendo said while the department was devising strategies to capture the crocodiles, plans are already in place to monitor their movement to ensure safety.

 Meanwhile just a stone throw away from the community dam lies a river where a school of fish was drifted along with the inflow caused by cyclone Dineo; a situation which has now led to rampant fishing in the area.

Mr Kenewendo has warned however that any commercial fishing needed licensing failure to which perpetrators will be brought to book.

Penalties include a P200 fine as well as seizure of resources that were used to conduct the illegal activity.

“Only people who catch fish for consumption purposes using hooks do not require a license,” he said.ENDS