10 killed by wild animals in 2020/21

ELLANIE SMIT

WINDHOEK

Ten people were killed by wild animals and 42 injured during the 2020/2021 financial year. This compared to the previous year, when seven people were killed and 37 injured.

Statistics provided to Namibian Sun by the environment ministry indicated that 1 486 human-wildlife conflict cases were reported during the 2020/2021 financial year, while 1 284 cases were investigated.

The regions that the reported the majority of cases were Kavango West (255), Kunene (223) and Kavango East (221).

The fewest cases were reported in Hardap and Karas, each reporting nine.

Crocodiles were responsible for the death of eight people, while elephants killed two people.

With regards to injuries, 14 people were injured by leopards, eight by hippos and seven by leopards.

Furthermore, 1 351 livestock were killed by animals during 2020/2021, of which the majority were goats (571) and cattle (481).

A total of 844 hectares of crops were damaged by wildlife, of which 780 hectares were damaged by elephants.

2019/2020

Meanwhile, 1 577 human-wildlife conflict cases were reported during the 2019/2020financial year, while 1 398 of these cases were investigated.

According to the ministry, the majority of the cases were reported in Kavango West (366) followed by Otjozondjupa (234) and Zambezi (230).

In Hardap, only five cases were reported and three in Khomas.

Hippos were responsible for three deaths, while two people were killed by crocodiles and two by elephants.

The majority of injuries by wildlife were from hippo (nine), leopard (nine), crocodile (six) and buffalo (six).

A total of 1 422 livestock was killed by wild animals, the majority being cattle (701) and goats (337), while 1 589 hectares of crops were damaged, of which elephants damaged 1 485 hectares.

The ministry added that the current revised National Policy on Human-Wildlife Conflict (HWC) Management 2018 – 2027 states that damages caused to infrastructure by wild animals is not part of the HWC Self-Reliance Scheme, as these incidents are difficult to verify and can be misused.

“It is for that reason that infrastructure damage is not that widely recorded. The ministry is, however, exploring possibilities for payment of damages to properties such as fences, water points, etc.”