Entire herds of hippos are trapped in the mud of semi-dry ponds in Botswana due to severe drought, animal conservation authorities said. “River systems are drying up and animals are in danger,” explained Lesego Moseki, spokesperson for the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) in Gaborone.
“The Namiland hippopotamus depends on the water of the Okavango Delta”, he added, and specified that the number of animals that have died due to the drought has not yet been established. Southern Africa is the victim of a serious drought that is severely affecting crops and plunging millions of people into hunger.
In northern Botswana, near the extensive Okavango Delta wetland, The drying up of the Thamalakane River forced herds of hippos to head to natural water reserves near the resort town of Maunwhere most tourists go on safaris in the country’s large animal parks.
Hippos with thick but sensitive skin need to bathe regularly to avoid sunburn and tend to live in humid areas. Without water they can become aggressive and approach villages.
Local authorities are asking that the hippos be rehoused in reserves to avoid conflicts with man. Botswana is home to one of the world’s largest populations of hippos living in the wild, estimated by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) between 2,000 and 4,000 specimens. The species is considered to be at high risk of extinction.
El Niño causes death and desolation in Africa
While drought attacks Botswana, in Tanzania, this Thursday at least 155 people died from floods and landslides caused by torrential rains caused by the El Niño meteorological phenomenon, which caused dozens of deaths in other East African countries.
According to Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa, more than 200,000 people were affected by the heavy rainfall, which left 155 dead and 236 injured. “El Niño’s heavy rains, accompanied by strong winds, flooding and landslides in several parts of the country, caused significant damage,” Majaliwa declared in Parliament..
El Niño is often associated with rising temperatures around the world, as well as droughts in some areas and heavy rains in others, and can have a devastating impact in East Africa. In Kenya, some 45 people have died since the rainy season began in March, including 13 who lost their lives in floods in the capital, Nairobi, this week.
“We have to put everyone on alert,” warned President William Ruto, at a meeting to coordinate the response. Vice President Rigathi Gachagua affirmed that food and other goods will be administered to the victims and those who live in the most risk areas will be displaced.
In Burundi, one of the most impoverished countries in the world, some 96,000 people have been displaced in recent months by incessant rain, the UN and the government reported.
The storm also intensified in Somalia, where at least four people died and more than 800 were affected by sudden floods that have occurred since April 19, announced the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
In Uganda, the rain caused river overflows and two confirmed deaths, in addition to hundreds of displaced people. Late last year, more than 300 people died from torrential rains and floods in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia, just as the region was trying to recover from its worst drought in 40 years.
*With information from AFP.
