ONGWEDIVA – The Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) has dispatched a team to Uukwiyu-Uushona to monitor and recapture the rhino spotted roaming around that area.
The wild beast was spotted on Wednesday morning.
Chief Public Relations Officer in the Ministry of Environment and Tourism Romeo Muyunda said the ministry is making sure the rhino is safely returned to the Etosha National Park.
He thus appeals to the community not to tamper with the rhino or any other wild animals they may spot in their areas.
In addition to the rhino, there have recently been reports of wild animals being spotted in various areas across the north.
Muyunda said the ministry is also hard at work to ensure that such wild animals are also safely returned to the park.
The ministry’s spokesperson said the escape of wild animals from the Etosha National Park is attributed to the poor fence on the northern side of the park, but he made the assurance the situation is being addressed.
Although the ministry has since 2012 been working on the 822 km stretch, elephant and predator-proof fence, it has been experiencing financial challenges.
Muyunda said the ministry has thus reduced the specifications to make the fence cheaper and is optimistic that there is going to be progress during this current financial year.
“We are now looking at cheaper alternatives to make sure that more work is done on the fence to ensure that animals do not break from the park and equally keep predators away.”
He said cheaper specifications should not be mistaken for poor quality, citing that the ministry is only scaling down specifications without hampering the quality.
“We have reduced the specifications to make the fence cheaper hence there is going to be progress in this current financial year,” Muyunda said.