Post from Informanté
WINDHOEK – Stray lions in Kaokoland that recently escaped from the Etosha National Park managed to kill 19 goats in one night, leaving one livestock farmer in the area financially devastated.
Apart from the nearly two dozen goats that were killed in one kraal in the Sesfontein Constituency, other farmers in the Kunene Region also lost cattle and sheep in recent weeks due to the lion attacks.
Spokesperson of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Romeo Munyunda, has confirmed the incident, adding that his ministry is currently monitoring the movement of the lions via satellite.
“A total of 19 goats were killed and on different nights, a number of sheep and cattle were also killed by two lions at farms near Opuwo in the Kunene Region”, said Muyunda.
He could, however, not give the exact number of lions that had escaped from the national park.
Muyunda further noted that the ministry will investigate the matter to determine the small-scale farmer’s loss in monetary terms, which could be well over N$50,000, but he has in the meantime, urged the farmers to meet the ministry half way by making sure that their livestock are kept safe in kraals.
Tammy Hoth, Director of the AfriCat Foundation, said that the human and wildlife conflict has boiled over and has over the years become a serious problem in the country and that an urgent solution was needed.
She added that after the AfriCat Forum received information of the lions running loose in the area and before the latest livestock killings, the farmer who lost his goats was advised to make adjustments to his kraal to prevent lions getting in, but that he failed to do so.
According to Hoth, while it is not common, lions have been known to kill livestock in large numbers without consuming the carcasses.
“A lot of times, we find that this happens when the mother lions are teaching the cubs how to hunt and as a result, a lot of livestock is killed in one attack and the carcasses are left unconsumed,” explained Hoth.
Hoth further noted that in some instances, lions will leave carcasses unconsumed after noise or people disturb their hunt, but that it is not unusual for the lions to return to the same kraal later on in an attempt to consume the abandoned carcasses.
Hoth, who is currently patrolling the Kaokoland area, says there are currently seven cubs on the loose with their mothers and that the forum visited numerous livestock farmers to alert them about the stray lions.
Opuwo Deputy Commissioner James Nderura confirmed that a case of loss of livestock was this week registered at the Ombaweejo village in the Sesfontein Constituency and that a similar case was last month registered at Marine-Höhe, a village situated a few kilometres from Kamajab.
In the case at Marine-Höhe, the goat carcasses were also left unconsumed.
Source: http://www.informante.web.na/escaped-lions-rampage.19970
WINDHOEK – Stray lions in Kaokoland that recently escaped from the Etosha National Park managed to kill 19 goats in one night, leaving one livestock farmer in the area financially devastated.
Apart from the nearly two dozen goats that were killed in one kraal in the Sesfontein Constituency, other farmers in the Kunene Region also lost cattle and sheep in recent weeks due to the lion attacks.
Spokesperson of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Romeo Munyunda, has confirmed the incident, adding that his ministry is currently monitoring the movement of the lions via satellite.
“A total of 19 goats were killed and on different nights, a number of sheep and cattle were also killed by two lions at farms near Opuwo in the Kunene Region”, said Muyunda.
He could, however, not give the exact number of lions that had escaped from the national park.
Muyunda further noted that the ministry will investigate the matter to determine the small-scale farmer’s loss in monetary terms, which could be well over N$50,000, but he has in the meantime, urged the farmers to meet the ministry half way by making sure that their livestock are kept safe in kraals.
Tammy Hoth, Director of the AfriCat Foundation, said that the human and wildlife conflict has boiled over and has over the years become a serious problem in the country and that an urgent solution was needed.
She added that after the AfriCat Forum received information of the lions running loose in the area and before the latest livestock killings, the farmer who lost his goats was advised to make adjustments to his kraal to prevent lions getting in, but that he failed to do so.
According to Hoth, while it is not common, lions have been known to kill livestock in large numbers without consuming the carcasses.
“A lot of times, we find that this happens when the mother lions are teaching the cubs how to hunt and as a result, a lot of livestock is killed in one attack and the carcasses are left unconsumed,” explained Hoth.
Hoth further noted that in some instances, lions will leave carcasses unconsumed after noise or people disturb their hunt, but that it is not unusual for the lions to return to the same kraal later on in an attempt to consume the abandoned carcasses.
Hoth, who is currently patrolling the Kaokoland area, says there are currently seven cubs on the loose with their mothers and that the forum visited numerous livestock farmers to alert them about the stray lions.
Opuwo Deputy Commissioner James Nderura confirmed that a case of loss of livestock was this week registered at the Ombaweejo village in the Sesfontein Constituency and that a similar case was last month registered at Marine-Höhe, a village situated a few kilometres from Kamajab.
In the case at Marine-Höhe, the goat carcasses were also left unconsumed.
Source: http://www.informante.web.na/escaped-lions-rampage.19970
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