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The Hippos of Sinazongwe
Few
African animals capture the interest and imagination of visitors to
Africa as does the hippopotamus. Why this is the case is uncertain,
but the fact remains that after the big five, one of the animals
everybody always asks to see is the good old hippo.
Sinazongwe, on the shore of Lake Kariba in Southern Province, is a
rural district well known for it’s kapenta fishing industry, and
also produces a large portion of Zambia’s farmed crocodile exports.
In the past few years a new industry for the area has started to
develop, an industry with enormous potential, and with massive
future benefits for the area and local population. No prizes for
guessing the nature of this industry – tourism! No prizes for
guessing one of the most frequently asked questions by visitors –
“Where are all the hippo’s?”
The
sad fact is that Sinazongwe’s hippo population is in a considerable
decline. They are around, but fewer every year, and those that
remain are shy and reclusive, avoiding contact with people at all
costs. One of the district’s most valuable natural assets is in
danger of disappearing altogether. The reason for this is simple –
over-hunting is rife. It is believed that ZAWA have issued twelve
hippo licences for Sinazongwe this year, which in itself is
unsustainable, bearing in mind that there has been no census of the
hippo population in the last twenty years, although it has been
reported that the number on the licence was reduced to six – with
four being re-allocated to the Monze District and two being
re-allocated to Chipepo. But the problem does not end there. The
hunters who hold these licences are not monitored and in some cases
tend to abuse them. The following story is one that we hear all too
often - a hunter with a licence for one hippo shoots a baby hippo
somewhere in the district. He is dissatisfied as he feels that he is
not getting as much meat as he should, and proceeds to shoot more
until he feels, in his own opinion, that he has recovered enough
meat.
Unfortunately this sort of thing is not the exception but rather the
norm. It is also worth noting that a lot of hippo hunting is being
done at night, which is both unethical and highly illegal. Very
often hippos are severely wounded by gunshots and not followed up by
the hunter. They continue shooting until they make a clean kill and
take the meat. Often days after a hunter has been in the area,
rotting hippo carcasses are discovered floating amongst the reeds,
after suffering agonising deaths, while their executioners have gone
off to look for easier pickings. A crocodile farmer in the area has
even resorted to buying hippo meat for his employees from licence
holders purely for the reason that he can force the hunter to
endorse his licence before receiving payment and in a bizarre and
tragic manner slow down the slaughter.
This
is not being exaggerated – in July this year a retired ZAWA officer
instigated an investigation into a hunting operation being conducted
within the Government Harbour in Sinazongwe. Five hunters informed
the investigators that the same licence holder was employing them.
When traced he refused to produce a licence. He also brazenly
informed the ZAWA officers present that his hunters had accidentally
shot a hippo that was too small and that they would return that
night to kill a bigger one. On a further sweep of the area a further
four hippo skulls were recovered.
A
report was submitted to the Sinazongwe District Neighbourhood Watch
Association and to ZAWA officers in Sinazongwe during October, which
contained details of verified reports of 8 hippos killed and three
wounded in the area between Siansowa and Namazambwe, a stretch of
lakeshore of approximately 70 kilometres. The investigators were
able to see only two licences, only one of which had been endorsed.
The other was produced on three separate occasions, for two dead and
one wounded hippo and at that time had still not been endorsed!
In
the Siansowa Bay area we have confirmed incidents of hippos killed
on the nights of the 21 October and 19 November. On both occasions
the hunters were not able to produce their licences. In summary, so
far this year, it has been confirmed that 15 hippos have been killed
and three wounded in just two locations on the lake, two licences
have been produced and one has been endorsed. These are only the
confirmed incidents. How many more have been wiped out is anybody’s
guess! The local ZAWA office has been informed of all the incidents.
They have not been inactive, some arrests have been made in
conjunction with the Neighbourhood Watch, but the area is vast and
they have limited resources and therefore it appears they are unable
to effectively control the situation.
There
is nothing wrong with hunting. In fact it plays a very important
role in the conservation effort. But it needs to be controlled and
done on a sustainable basis. Depleting a population of wildlife from
the area has several negative effects. Not only does it detract from
the tourism potential, but also will exclude development for the
future. Hippos also play an important role in the ecological balance
of any water system. They clear bays and inlets of reeds and weeds,
which in turn allows better breeding areas for the various fish
species upon which so many people in the district rely for an
income. They also help bring nutrients into the same bays, which
again helps the fish population. Lastly, but very importantly, bear
in mind the safety of the people in the area. Hippos have a fearsome
reputation for attacking people and boats, but the truth of the
matter is that it is rare for a hippo to attack people unless they
feel that they are being threatened. By harassing and shooting
indiscriminately at the hippos, the way it is being done now, will
naturally cause them to fear boats and people, putting local
fishermen, tourists and anybody on or near the water at risk of
attacks. Unfortunately the common reaction to an attack is always to
go and shoot some more hippos, which only compounds the problem!
Something needs to done. A complete halt on the issuing of hunting
licences for the entire Lake Kariba is urgently necessary. Not just
hippo licences, but all open area hunting licences as there is
virtually no wildlife left at all. As it is, there is practically no
game besides that on the islands that have been privately stocked
and on Chete and Sikula islands. ZAWA make enormous efforts
throughout the country, but unfortunately in remote areas such as
Sinazongwe the resources available are not enough to effectively
ensure that hunting licences are not being abused. It would make law
enforcement much easier if no licences were issued in order to give
the hippo populations and other species of wildlife a chance to
recover as other organisations such as the Police and Neighbourhood
Watch would be able to act without hesitation when any hippo is
shot.
In
the five years that tourism has been developing in Sinazongwe, not
only have many people gained new skills and employment, but also
various spin-offs have emerged. Pottery, basket weaving and carving
were crafts on the verge of disappearing from the local community,
but are now showing signs of revival, reviving age old skills and
providing revenue for the people of the area.
The
bottom line is that Zambia has the potential to develop tourism to a
level that can change the face of the country’s economy – it will
take time to reach its full potential, of course – but the necessary
development is happening. It is vital that we identify any and all
of our resources that can contribute to this industry, and take all
possible steps to conserve and if necessary, improve on them. How
long are Zambians going to stand by and tolerate their precious
resources being destroyed by a greedy and lawless few?
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December
2005