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Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter
VILLAGERS in Mabale and surrounding areas under Chief Dingani-Nelukoba in Hwange have resorted to herding their livestock near homesteads, in fear of losing their livestock to marauding lions in the area.
Chronicle understands there is a pride comprising a female adult lion and seven cubs that have killed more than 40 cattle since the Christmas holidays in Mabale.
Last week the pride reportedly killed 10 cattle belonging to different villagers, while yesterday it was reported that they had killed another cow, just metres away from Chief Dingane-Nelukoba’s homestead.
Lions have turned the villages into hunting grounds putting the lives of the community in danger.
“People have resorted to herding cattle close to their homesteads to protect the livestock from being attacked. We usually try to preserve grazing areas near homesteads for use during the dry season by prohibiting people from herding near homesteads. This year it’s difficult because of the lions. Our cattle will starve to death because there are not enough pastures around homesteads,” said the Chief.
He said he recently engaged Hwange Rural District Council officials who sent rangers to drive the lions away but they returned.
“As they entered the bush, they found the lions had killed two cows. They tried to drive them away but lost track and the pride returned again. This will provoke people and all these issues de-campaign the Government.
“Our wish is for these lions to be driven back into the game park or into the wild. It looks like the pride is fleeing other lions in the park and we are afraid they will end up killing people,” he said.
A villager, Ms Sikhathele Moyo, who is also Zanu-PF Secretary for Transport and Social Welfare in the Hwange District Coordinating Committee, said villagers were slowly losing their source of livelihood.
She said erecting a fence separating the game park from the community would be a permanent solution to the challenge.
“We have a situation whereby lions kill cattle in the presence of herd boys and once it attacks it is dangerous to drive it away. Some have lost all draught power and are struggling to work in the fields so we appeal to authorities to balance between conservation and people’s livelihoods,” she said.
Ms Moyo said there should be village committees that should be trained to react to wild animal scares and alert the community to be able to drive the animals away or alert respective authorities.
She said allowing the human-wildlife conflict to go on would promote illegal hunting as villagers are getting impatient.
Ms Moyo also implored villagers to be vigilant and not to drive their cattle into the Forestry Commission-protected areas that connect the villages to the Hwange National Park to reduce conflict with animals.
She also called for compensation of villagers through the Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources (Campfire) program.
Government is currently re-modeling Campfire countrywide so that communities can benefit from the animal resource in their communities while making councils more accountable for the usage of revenue from hunting.
The program was managed through rural local authorities who after generating funds, distributed them to wards for development programs after a needs assessment.
Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority spokesperson Mr Tinashe Farawo recently encouraged villagers to report every human-wildlife conflict incident.
–@ncubeleon
Online Reporter