Buffalo invasion: 2023 people’s worst nightmare
Lesedi Mkhutshwa | Monday December 25, 2023 06:00
Hundreds of buffaloes from Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park were spotted roaming around Sowa Town as well as Lepashe, Mosetse, Dukwi, Kutamogoree, and other nearby villages in early September. Authorities conjectured that the animals were migrating across the border in large numbers in pursuit of pasture and water.
Furthermore, in the interim, the government advised the affected villagers to exercise extreme caution when moving around. The Ministry of Agriculture banned the movement of cloven-hoofed animals and their products in and out of Zones 3b, 3c, 5, 6a and 8. The restriction resulted in the quarantining of over 300, 000 cattle in the area.
The buffaloes were killed after separating from the main herd, which made it difficult to capture them, Agriculture Minister Fidelis Molao revealed in October. Molao also announced to the media that 56 buffaloes had been apprehended and taken to the Chobe National Park.
He went on to say: "A total of 51 buffalo carcasses were found in the bushes, probably after they died of starvation and thirst." Additionally, Molao said on October 8, 2023, the last buffaloes were taken out. Meanwhile, Nata/Gweta legislator, Polson Majaga told Mmegi that human-wildlife conflict is increasingly troubling the area, as more buffaloes and elephants travel through the Maitengwe and Sepako corridors on their way to and from Zimbabwe. He said the invasion of buffaloes, many of them wandering close to residential areas in search of water, has left villagers anxious and disturbed.
“Elephants, buffaloes, and other carnivores are generating additional challenges for residents, particularly farmers who have not yet prepared for this year's ploughing season,” he said. “The majority of the residents in my constituency are impoverished members of rural villages who live primarily off agriculture,” he added.
Majaga added that there have been frightening instances of livestock predation as a result of the inflow of wild animals. Village leader for Dukwi, Kgosi Bohedile Twaelang, told Mmegi that since the buffaloes invasion, the villagers have been living in terror and panic. This was before the buffaloes were captured. He said even though they did not receive any reports of casualties or injuries, the villagers were fearful that the stray wild animals may harm them. As a result of the buffalo sightings, villagers have changed their routines more, especially farmers, he added.
“People were afraid to gather firewood in woodlands or visit their cattle posts and lands because buffaloes can be spotted everywhere,” he said. The new developments came as a shock to locals as this was the first time buffaloes have invaded in such numbers, to the extent that some of them have been found at Botash’s mine in Sowa Town and in the Lepashe area, Twaelang added. In the midst of the fear and panic, pastoral farmers are also dealing with the livestock movement restriction, which is crippling their incomes and livelihoods.
Twaelang said most of the farmers rely on their cattle, goats and sheep to make a living. The village leader said wildlife, especially elephants, have been negatively affecting pastoral farmers for the last seven years. Elephants in search of water frequently damage infrastructure such as fences and boreholes, he said.
He said it was critical for the government to revamp the veterinary fences along the border which are currently damaged, adding that buffaloes are very dangerous wild animals which are capable of killing and also carry the FMD. Farmers’ representative in the area, Selebaleng Molemi, said they have already started calculating their losses due to the invasion of wildlife.
He told Mmegi that while farmers were adjusting to the elephants and hyenas that have in the past terrorised livestock and destroyed crops, the buffalo invasion was not a surprise. Molemi used to own about 100 cattle and 15 goats. However, 65 of this livestock were eaten by wild animals recently. "We are nonetheless startled at the numbers that came in,” he said.
“The nature of Zimbabwe's wildlife and the care it is receiving are well known to our government, and yet electrifying the borders is not given priority.” Molemi said eliminating the buffaloes should not be government’s top priority at the moment. “They need to build wildlife water reservoirs so that local wild animals have access,” said the farmer.