Build river barrier to protect hippos, says Malindi conservationist

A Malindi conservationist has urged authorities to build a wall on the River Sabaki estuary to protect more than 50 hippos and avert human-wildlife conflicts. 

The Hippo Campus Sabaki Conservancy Trust wants the hippos to be confined to the river and its riparian area to prevent the frequent attacks by the wildlife.

The hippos have killed over four people and injured four others in the last one year, leading to an outcry by residents of the area that action be taken to avert more.

Trust founder Dominic Kene said the hippos were terrorising residents because their grazing areas have been turned into farmlands and residential areas.

Kene said that due to the constant attacks residents were threatening to kill the hippos in self-defence.

‘‘There are more than 50 hippopotamuses at the Sabaki estuary, they should be confined so that residents can live in peace and stop attacking them,’’ he said.

Kene who took journalists on a tour of the estuary on Saturday said a donor had already been identified and was willing to construct the wall or set up a solar-powered electric fence.

Locals said the hippos normally attack at night and a dusk to dawn curfew in areas adjacent to the river was in place.

They said the rogue hippos have also destroyed acres of farm produce in the area leaving residents to suffer.

Kene called on the government to gazette the Sabaki estuary as an important bird area as it was home to unique bird species.

Further, he called on the Kenya Wildlife Service to establish a camp in the area to help prevent human-wildlife conflicts.

‘‘We are working together with stakeholders including KWS and locals, to guard the animals,” he said.

He also said they have begun constructing a watchtower on his one-acre plot of land near the river to guard the animals and warn people of their presence.

Adriano Graldello, an honorary KWS warden, promised to support the trust to conserve the estuary and protect the animals.

‘‘I would call upon the locals not to provoke the animals by stoning them and destroying their habitats, as this would only escalate the conflicts,’’ he said.

(edited by O. Owino)

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