Hippos terrorise Mushindano residents

HIPPOS in Mushindano district of North-western province have staged a reign of terror on residents in Lwenge area, who are now living in fear. The hippos are particularly coming out in the evening and late morning in the latest animal-human conflict in the area. Officers from the department of National Parks and Wildlife (NPW) have since been dispatched to the area to hunt down the wild animals. Mushindamo acting District Commissioner, Oscar Mugala has confirmed that two hippos were terrorising people in Lwenge. “Residents of Lwenge have been reporting the presence of two hippos in the late evenings and early mornings for the past one month,” he said. Mr Mugala said the local people had also reported that a dog had been killed by the beasts in a vicious attack. As a result, wildlife officers have been deployed to the area to gun down the vicious hippos. “We have received five ZAWA officers from Solwezi that have come to monitor the situation, and if discovered that the lives of people are threatened, the hippos will be gunned down,” he added. Early last year, a police officer and an old woman were injured during the operation to kill a hippo that was terrorizing residents Lwenge. -ZANIS The Sun