17 Mar 2021

The vastness of the Ngamiland District, shortage of transport and personnel have been cited as hindrances to the effective control of problem animals.

Giving an update on human/wildlife conflict situation in the district, wildlife veterinarian, Dr Comfort Nkgowe explained that all dangerous wild animals were found in the district.

In addition, he said good rains and availability of food had made it easier for wild animals to spread over a large area, thus intruding into human settlements.

Dr Nkgowe noted that the district receives about 350-400 incidents of human/wildlife conflict annually, which is an average of 12 cases a day.

He said at times the incidents accumulated, resulting in failure to attend to them due to resource constraints.

He said hot spots included Habu, Matsebe, Seronga and Hainaveld ranches, while problematic animals included lions, buffaloes and elephants, among others.

Dr Nkgowe revealed that last year they registered five cases where people lost their lives, with two killed by elephants, one by a hippo and the other two by buffaloes.

Furthermore, he stated that during the same period, about 10  people were injured by animals such as crocodiles, hippos, lions and elephants.

He said restriction of movement due to the COVID-19 pandemic also exacerbated the situation, as wild animals moved closer to human habitation, resulting in increased encounters of humans and wildlife.

Dr Nkgowe noted that at the Hainaveld ranches, farmers were terrorised by lions from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, highlighting that the district continued to experience a number of stray buffaloes in areas outside the buffalo fence.

He said the fence was continuously destroyed by elephants.

He revealed that buffaloes were seen roaming the streets of Maun and surrounding areas, saying lions also followed the buffaloes to the affected areas and both become a threat to human life.

To address the situation, Dr Nkgowe said efforts were made to track and chase the species or translocate them if it is a herd or destroy them if there are less than 10.

He also revealed that the department had deployed officers in hot spots, and assembled some standby teams to attend to problematic animals at any time.

Dr Nkgowe also noted that the reintroduction of hunting would drive elephants to protected areas, adding that the exercise had been disrupted by COVID-19.

With regard to compensation, he explained that the department had been trying to clear the back log.

Currently, he said they had managed to pay damages worth over P10 million this financial year as at the end of February, adding that there were still many cases to pay, with 2 825 people having been assessed and owed over P4 million.

Commenting on the update, some members of the executive committee complained about the delay to attend to reported cases, saying officers only came on time when they reported poaching incidents.

Okavango Sub-district Council chairperson, Mr Mpoke Karapo expressed concern that people injured by wildlife were not covered under ex-gratia.

Responding to the comments, Dr Nkgowe noted that the office reacted to any report, but some reports were made when there was no transport, hence not being attended to on time. He also explained that people injured by wildlife were not covered under ex-gratia in monetary terms, as such they had to be referred to government hospitals for treatment. He said if the injured person became disabled, they were referred to other government departments for assistance. ENDS