WINDHOEK – The Ministry of Environment and Tourism has revealed some plans to possibly the save dozens of hippos stranded in muddy streams in the Zambezi Region.
This comes after the spokesperson for Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Romeo Muyunda, on Friday confirmed that 53 hippos were seen struggling in a pond in part of the Chobe River.
He also revealed the river is drying up, breaking into small ponds of water and the 63 hippos are stuck in one of them.
He said the government is exploring possible actions of drilling water pumps to fill the ponds with water in an effort to save the hippos. Another option he mentioned is relocating them to another part of the river.
Muyunda said the level of water is becoming shallow which calls for an intervention between Namibia and Botswana.
“Talks are underway between the two countries to look at how best to address this situation. The ministry continues to monitor the hippos while discussions are ongoing with Botswana,” he stated.
According to him, a number of crocodiles were also observed in the pond.
Moreover, Muyunda said a helicopter assessment would also be conducted by the ministry this month to verify if there are other similar situations in other parts of the Zambezi and Kavango East regions.
New Era reported on Friday that community members staying at the cattle post at Lungala said the hippos are trapped in no man’s land, and in a matter of weeks they could start dying as the water where they are trapped is fast evaporating.
“These hippos are in trouble and if nothing is done in the next two to three weeks, they may start dying. If possible, the relevant authorities should do something as soon as possible,” said Tronah Masiye, a community member in Lungala area.
Lungala is situated about 10km southeast of Mutikitila in Katima Mulilo Rural Constituency, at the border between Namibia and Botswana where about 60 hippos are stranded in a shallow pool of muddy water.