limukani
Fairness Moyana in Hwange
VILLAGERS of Magoli area in Dete, Hwange district are living in fear of a marauding pride of lions that has so far killed their livestock.
According to villagers, the lions which came into the area last Saturday and comprise of six adult females accompanied by some cubs killed eight goats in a single swoop in Magoli village. So daring are the lions that they had set camp in a nearby bush from where they enter people’s homesteads even during the day resulting in one lioness being shot dead by rangers from Zimparks and Hwange Rural District Council (HRDC).
“The lions have gone berserk and are threatening to eat us. From Monday, we have not experienced peace as these lions have been daring by entering into people’s homestead. We now fear for our lives and livestock. Some people have lost as many as eight goats in one go as a result of these lions,” said Zvenyika Mseva.
An elderly woman who identified herself as gogo MaNcube said she was lucky to be alive after she encountered the lions as she was coming from fetching water near her homestead.
“I’m lucky to be alive after stumbling upon the lions from a distance. We are in trouble and we call on the authorities to intervene before someone is killed. We don’t want a situation where they react after many livestock or a person has been killed. There is need to act now otherwise it’s now dangerous to even go the borehole or fields. Yes, we occasionally have incidents of one or two stray lions however, this time around it’s different the frequency and number has increased. We are living on the edge because of these animals.”
Magoli village is among the areas that sit close to the Hwange National Park and often experiences human wildlife conflicts with lions, elephants, baboons and hyenas giving villagers a torrid time. Villagers said the slow reaction by authorities was putting them at risk as at times they had to use vuvuzelas to scare away the lions.
“We are living in fear of these lions, we are not sleeping as we are using vuvuzelas to scare them away. But these lions are cheeky and come into our yards. It would seem these lions seem to be targeting livestock hence our fear that we would soon be in danger,” said Zephaniah Moyo.
The ward councilor, Stanley Torima said rangers shot dead a female lion in response the development with efforts to capture or scare the remaining pride back into the Hwange National Park underway.
“The stray lions are a problem in this area but we are glad there are efforts already underway with rangers from Parks and Council having been deployed in the village to monitor the situation. There is collaboration especially amongst stakeholders such as Lion Research and Painted Dogs to work together towards solving the issue of stray lions. I can confirm that there are two villagers, Dumisani Sibanda and Raphael Ndlovu who lost their goats. Indications show that there are six adult lions moving with some cubs. The rangers from HRDC managed to shoot dead one lioness in the morning on Tuesday. The guys are still on the ground because there is a likelihood that after having shot the female lion there is great risk of retaliation. Footprints have shown that these lions are roaming close by, there are still there probably angry at the killing of their family members. So, we have appealed to the rangers not to leave the place yet but enhance patrols close to the village to be able to react swiftly in the event of an attack.”
Online Reporter