20 Oct 2020

Department of Wildlife and National Parks is said to be progressing well in drilling and equipping boreholes at CT 5 to provide water for wildlife.

This was revealed by senior wildlife warden, Mr Modiri Kalanke responding to Kgosi Joseph Ramaditse of Sepako during a leadership meeting with the Member of Parliament for Nata/Gweta, Mr Polson Majaga recently.

Kgosi Ramaditse said it had been years since they suggested to government to drill boreholes for wildlife in order to control loitering of dangerous animals in villages in search of water during dry spells.

He said when moving into villages, the wild animals terrorised people, thereby worsening the human/wildlife conflict.

He noted that dangerous ones such as buffaloes and elephants came in numbers, making it difficult for farmers to move around the village or at the cattle posts.

He added that often elephants tended to destroy farmers’ properties such as boreholes, where they watered their livestock, while buffaloes integrated with cattle, resulting in exposure to Foot and Mouth disease (FMD).

He noted that their area had been declared a green zone not so long ago, and if their livestock mixed with buffaloes, they might be exposed to FMD, resulting in the area being declared a red zone.

Kgosi Ramaditse asserted that at numerous platforms with government officials, they had proposed that boreholes be drilled at areas such as CT5 concession and Dzibanana, where water would be pumped into natural and manmade ponds to water the wild beasts.

He noted that the current arrangement of bowsing water seemed not sustainable because often the trucks experienced breakdowns.

Commenting, Mr Kalanke said already they had resuscitated two boreholes at CT5 and were working hard to provide water for those animals away from the people.

However, he stated that they were still waiting for more funding to help them drill new or revive old boreholes.

In addition, he said, unlike in the past they had received few reports on damages caused by wild animals, adding that at the beginning of the ploughing season last year, they were provided with a helicopter, which they used to drive away animals to their areas.

He also noted that they had been tracking movement of buffaloes and when found the animals were driven away from cattle and people.

Mr Kalanke informed the meeting that veterinary officers had embarked on a journey to take blood samples of all cattle that might have come into contact with buffaloes for testing. ENDS