Write Leo Odera Omolo In Kisumu City.
LIVESTOCK farmers in the North Rift district of Nandi are having counting losses after a yet to be identified wild animal attacked their stock during dead hours of the night.
More than ten local farmers at Chepterit and Tukon villages in Nandi Central district have reported that several of their goats and sheep had been killed by a wild animal.
The mysterious animal has also attacked more than ten cattle by biting off their tails. Two local farmers who are among the affected farmers said their individual losses were amounting to over Khs 200,000.
Mr Abraham Kago and Mrs Rose and Mr Wesley Saina told the newsmen that the animal, which has been roaming the villages for the last two weeks, had killed a total of ten sheep, three goats and two cows.
The mysterious attack the livestock at night by breaking into livestock shed and biting the throats of sheep and goats. It only sucks blood and leaves the carcasses,“ said Mr Kago.
The farmers said that attempt to hunt for the mysterious for the mysterious animal and kill it have been futile despite assistance from the Kenya Wild life Services [KWS} game wardens an rangers.” Even though we have been working I hand with KWS officers, we have not succeeded because the armed game warden just avail themselves during the day when the beat is hiding,”added Mr Kago.
The game warden in-charge in Nandi County Joel Kanda could no be reached on phone of Central Nandi County. However a local source that KWS men were there on the ground hunting down the mysterious beast.
This incident came barely three months after Tsavo cat attacked livestock in the neighboring Ndalat location in Nandi North district killing over 30 sheep and goats.
Experts were, however, still analyzing the nature of the latest attack on livestock in Nandi, but could not agree on which type of animals could be responsible. Other says it could be a rogue leopard or wild dogs, but leopard is known not to attack big prey such as cows, but only prey on smaller domestic animals such as sheep.
While in the lakeside town of Bondo about 80 kilometer northwest of here, residents of Usigu Division in Yimbo Kadimo Division, Bondo district within Siaya County residents on Monday this week held demonstrations to protest over rampant incidents of hippo on fishermen working on Lake Victoria fish landing beaches. The demonstrators while carrying twigs and chanting anti-Kenya Wildlife Service slogans, the residents led by one parliamentary aspirant William Abuonji marched to the DC’s office to demand solution to their grievances.
The demonstrators claimed they have lost several relatives to hippo an crocodiles attacks against human being, but KWS had taken no action to protect their people
‘We have lost 20 people in the last three months, but KWS has not even attempted check human wildlife conflict here. We cannot afford to lose more lives,”Said Abuonji.
The number of people who have died due to hippo attack on lake shoreline or beaches along Lake Victoria have increase three times.
The protest followed an incident in which a 40-year old fisherman drowned to the lake last week after his boat was hit and overturned by a rough hippo off Siungu Beach in West Yimo location last Sunday night.Two weeks before that a 20-year old fisherman also died from another hippo attack off the same beach.
In September six people drowned in the lake after their boat was hit by hippo at Goye in Bondo and a week later a father & son died between Misori Beach and Magare Island in the neighboring Rarieda district in similar circumstance.
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