21 Apr 2020

Residents of Zutshwa  in Kgalagadi District have raised concern about possible increase of human-wildlife conflict in their area due to extreme social distancing regulation.

In an interview, Kgosi Abathine Kabatlhophane said their village was 72 kilometres away from a wildlife management area, therefore the human-wildlife conflict was common.

He said the conflict was always a  'pain in the neck’  especially in villages situated along the wildlife management corridors, but noted that since the enactment of extreme social distancing, the situation had  worsened.

Kgosi Kabatlhophane said, despite the persistent wildlife movements in the past years, their movement was minimal due to frequent movements of residents in the grazing zones.

The extreme social distancing, he said, affected most of community members since they were struggling to take care of their livestock.

Kgosi Kabatlhophane further said residents were engulfed with fear to the extent of some having abandoned their livestock due to the marauding lions in the village peripheries.

The village leader alluded that the village was besieged with the incursions of cattle and small stock from neighbouring cattle-posts as they too feared for their lives from predators.

Despite their clash with the predators, Kgosi Kabatlhophane encouraged residents to ensure that they keep their livestock safe from predators.

On other issues, he said they were concerned by frequent visits from Ngwatle residents, whom he said were flouting the COVID-19 regulations and pleaded with both community members to desist from roving between the two villages without permits.

For his part, Hukuntsi principal wildlife officer, Mr Ernest Madimabe, said they had so far registered about two cases of livestock killed by wild dogs in the Zutshwa area since the extreme social distancing period begun.

He said they also received a report from the farmers committee that there were some lions in their vicinity and that they had caused some injuries on one of their donkeys.

Mr Madimabe noted that they attended the lions over the weekend to track them and drove them back into the park.

On other issues, he said in the previous months, farmers’ reports were not successfully attended to, due to transport challenges.

He said so far, they have secured two more vehicles and through that, they have managed to assist farmers on time and also that they have cleared the compensation backlogs.

Mr Madimabe mentioned that in the Kgalagadi area, the department compensates for livestock or property that has been damaged or killed by lions, wild dogs, cheetah and leopard while jackals, hyena and others are excluded.ends