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Elephants, Hippopotami Ravage Bushenyi Crops

New Vision (Kampala)

June 9, 2004
Kampala

Scores of elephants and hippopotami from the nearby Queen Elizabeth National Park have destroyed hundreds of acres of crops in Katerera in Bushenyi district, prompting residents dare kill them lest they are ravaged by famine, reports John Thawite.

The residents recently said the animals had ravaged their maize, banana, bean, groundnut gardens.

"It is true that the animals are a menace. But we are trying to address it," the Queen Elizabeth area chief warden, John Bosco Nuwe, said on Friday.

He said about 40 elephants and 20 hippos frequently destroyed people's crops.

Nuwe attributed the problem to poor land use and lack of environmental management awareness.

He said the residents had encroached on wildlife sanctuaries between Kyambura and Kitomya forest reserves and near the crater lakes.

Nuwe said the settlers had blocked the animal corridor between the two forest reserves forcing the animals to retrace their old routes through the gardens.

Nuwe said efforts to have the settlers cultivate far away from the animal sanctuaries in accordance with Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) regulations had proved futile.

"But we are trying to dig trenches around the reserves to protect the crops," he said, adding that UWA had so far dug six km of trenches and would dig another 35.

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