200 hippos, crocodiles wait to die

ENVIRONMENT minister Pohamba Shifeta yesterday said the government might consider putting up for trophy hunting hippos trapped in the fast drying ponds along the Sibbinda River, Zambezi region. More than 200 crocodiles and hippos are cramped in the few remaining ponds, 70 kilometres from Katima Mulilo, where they are virtually waiting for a slow death in a dead river. The chairperson of Bamunu Conservancy, where the hippos and crocodiles are trapped, Chunga Chunga, said unless the animals are relocated, their fate is sealed since the few remaining ponds are turning into muddy puddles.