Stray lions kill over 30 cattle in two months

A PRIDE of lions has killed 32 cattle in two months in Hwange and is terrorising villagers after straying from the nearby Hwange National Park.

Hwange Rural District Council Ward 1 councillor Mathew Muleya said the most affected villagers where in Mabale and St Mary's areas.

Villagers in the two areas which fall under Chief's Nelukoba and Nekatambe, have called on the Zimbabwe National Parks and Management Authority to swiftly intervene and deal with the problem animals.

"Yes, there are reports of lions killing over 30 cattle in the last two months. We are in consultation with parks rangers," said Clr Muleya.

He said besides losing their cattle, it had become difficult for villagers to move freely in the bush as they feared the lions.

Clr Muleya said some villagers were leaving their cattle unattended as they could not risk their lives due to the menacing lions.

The human-animal conflict is common in the district amid concerns by villagers that the Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources (Campfire) programme is letting them down since they are not getting any compensation when their livelihood is affected by the lions.

A Parks official who spoke on condition of anonymity blamed the villagers for causing the human-wildlife conflict.

He accused villagers of setting wire snares at the boundary between villages and the national park which they use to poach wild animals.

"So when the lions see easy meat caught by a snare, they eat it and instead of going back into the national park, they mill around and end up encroaching into the villages where they catch cattle," said the parks official.

He said villagers should desist from poaching game