Protected by a conservation policy, hippopotamuses are eating up crops, destroying fishermen’s tools and occasionally killing people in Gombe State. Though alarmed, the residents and the government can only complain, reports VINCENT OHONBAMU
The bulky, lumbering beasts do have something to admire. They snuggle up close to one another and splash around in the water, submerging and reappearing as though it was some kind of a marine feast.
In Gombe State, though, residents have a lot to worry about hippopotamuses. They are eating up farmers’ crops and destroying fishermen’s nets and fish-traps. In some cases, they have hoofed humans to death.
The residents’ response has been swift and increasingly alarming. Some have urged the federal government to allow them defend themselves against the beasts. This can mean anything from hurting the animals to killing them outright. The state government has also cried out. The animals are protected by conservation laws.
Arguably the world’s third heaviest animal on land after elephants and white rhinos, hippos could spend up to 16 hours of the day submerged in water where they cluster in territories while keeping their massive bodies cool and refreshed. On land, this heavily built semi-aquatic creature which is either omnivorous or herbivorous is solitary and likes to graze alone. Each adult could consume as much as 35kg of grass per grazing expedition, and that quantity, experts say, is relatively low, considering their bulk.
Over the years in the state, these large animals have been increasingly running into frequent conflicts with humans, hence the state government is now raising the alarm over the incessant harassment as well as destruction of life and property across the state.
At Difa, Dadin-Kowa, Gombe-Abba, Gwani, Malala, Maleri, Nafada communities and virtually every riverside community in Gombe State tell tales of sorrow and blood caused by grazing and trampling on crops. In some cases, the beasts have killed people in some communities.
Fishermen could be the worst hit. Their fish traps and other implements are destroyed with ease as the animals enjoy themselves in the rivers.
Malam Sa’adu Adamu, Chairman, Dadin-Kowa Fishermen said the emergence of hippos in their waters is a threat to their business because since then, fishermen’s collective daily income of betwen N150,000 and N200,000 has diminished because they destroy equipment and frustrate some out of fishing.
He said there were an estimated 61 hippopotamuses in one dam and that they migrated from Cameroon via Kiri Dam in Adamawa State.
Similarly, his counterpart at Difa, also in the local government area, Haruna Managa who has been fishing for about 34 years, complained bitterly about the animals which he said do not only destroy their farms, fishing equipment and traps, but equally constitute a great threat to their lives.
“I wish the Federal Government would allow us protect ourselves and property from the destructive specie,” he said, recalling that fishermen initially numbering about 100 in his community have dropped to about 30 over the last 12 years due to the animals’ activities and other challenges on the occupation.
Hippopotamuses are not man-hunters, but they attack when they feel threatened. This happens often because they usually construe people’s reactions and attempts to scare them away from grazing or trampling on crops as a threat to their existence.
These animals could run faster than humans on land, considering their estimated sustained sprinting speed which varies from 30 to 40km per hour, or even 50km per hour, despite being so bulky.
One of them which became too notorious at Dadin-Kowa community in the state was hunted down through the help of the army sometime last year after two and half years of destruction to life and property.
Head of Forestry Yamaltu/Deba Local Government Council, Malam Ismail Umar confirmed that, that particular Hippopotamus threatened fishermen and farmers for over two and half years.
“We noticed it two and half years ago, but unfortunately, it became very notorious and hazardous to people, farmers and fishermen. There are about 100 of them in our waters, but the one killed decided to cross to the lower side of the dam to be causing trouble,” he explained.
Mr. Adamu Pukuma, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Forest Resources acknowledged that hippos are one among animals going extinct and therefore placed under protection.
“But the particular one that was killed had become notorious and unbearable. It killed people around the area as well as destroyed farms and fishing equipment.
“There were complaints and a huge outcry from the people of the area, which was why we sought the governor’s permission to kill it,” he said.
Recently, hippos are on the rampage again after some quiet. They have started causing trouble along Gombe-Abba and Malala axis in Dukku Local Government Area; though no loss of life has been reported.
Gombe State Commissioner of Environment and Forestry Resources, Hajiya Sa’adatu Sa’ad Mustapha said the animals first appeared in these habitats around January, February this year and have been destroying crops and irrigation equipment.
She said, “They cannot be killed, not only because the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classify them as being on the verge of becoming endangered; the particular species of hippopotamus found in Gombe is one of the rarest in the world.”
The Commissioner said government is now burdened with thought of how to conserve them, which would be capital intensive. In the meantime local hunters continually scare the animals away from where they could be a threat to lives.
“Instead of killing them, we told them to just scare them away from the communities so that they cannot cause any damage or danger and we have employed the services of local hunters to do this.
“Killing the animals, we know, is against the law, therefore we warned the locals to desist from touching them, most especially the hunters,” she emphasised.
