RUNDU – Only the swift action of a brave older brother saved a nine-year-old girl from certain death when he wrestled a crocodile who had attacked his sister.
The incident has forced the environment ministry to warn riverine communities to be super cautious while making use of the river to avoid getting attacked by river predators.
This was after Regimiya Haikera (9) in Kavango West almost became a statistic of human-wildlife conflict deaths when a crocodile attacked her on Tuesday at Ntara village. The young survivor allegedly escaped from the jaws of the crocodile with the help of her brother Johannes Ndara who fought off the vicious reptile. The victim and others were fetching water for their garden, which is along the Kavango River, when the crocodile attacked and bit her on the inner thigh and the left side of her ribs. Chief warden Richard Aingura told New Era upon enquiry that it is a serious concern and people should be highly cautious and focused while fetching water or engaging in other activities at the river.
“The public should be cautious when at the riverside and with the water level rising, the visibility becomes poor and thus can’t see crocodiles and people should have company and this is what helped the child who was attacked, she was rescued by her older brother,” he said.
The victim was rushed to the Rundu Intermediate Hospital where she is getting medical attention.
“We have dispatched a staff member to observe the area and see if we can catch the croc and move it to an area away from people to avoid it from harming people,” Aingura said. “We are guided by the policy as well and we try by all means to limit any further danger that may be caused by the wild animal to human beings and once the crocodile tastes human blood and there are no sources of food, chances are that it can always repeat preying on humans, that’s why we always try to move or get rid of it to minimise the chances of it doing it again,” he noted.
“We first went to our crop fields to plough. Around 12 o’clock, we came home and since we didn’t have relish to cook at home, me and my sister decided to go down to the river, at our parents’ garden to go look for something to come cook,” says the 19-year-old Ndara in an interview with the press yesterday.
He said he was in front to open the gate to the garden to take their containers to water the plants in the garden, where they cultivate a few crops such as tomatoes, chillies, onions, mutete and cabbage.
“My sister was behind me when we went downstream to fill up our buckets and I just heard her screaming from behind and when I turned around, she was caught by the crocodile. I then jumped into the water and held the crocodile by its jaws, and fought it to release her,’’ Ndara said.
“After that, I felt powerless and just held her in my arms and we cried at the edge of the river,’’ he said. The victim was first rushed to Bunya Health Centre before being transferred to Rundu where she is reported to be in stable condition.