Placido Hilukilwa
THE straying of wild animals from the Etosha National Park into the populated areas of the north continues unabated because the northern fence of the park is in a state of disrepair.
The current serious drought conditions are also adding onto the already existing human-wildlife conflict.
A zebra was spotted near the Omaalala village along the Ondangwa-Oshakati main road on Monday and it is suspected that the animal originates from the national park further to the south.
The free roaming zebra incident follows early tow months after residents of the Okatjali Constituency of the Oshana Region had trouble with lions that escaped from the national park.
About two weeks after the lion incident in March, two rhinos were seen wandering in Uukwiyu-uushona in the first week of April.
The two rhinos were eventually captured and repatriated to the Etosha National Park by a specialist team of nature conservationists.
At the time of the incidents with the lions and the rhinos, the Ministry of Environment and Tourism’s spokesperson, Romeo Muyunda, said that it is not uncommon for rhinos and other wild animals to move through broken parts of the fence and into communal farming areas and villages and causing human-wildlife conflict.
“The mending of the fence is viewed as very serious and an urgent issue because it can always cause other unfortunate situations,” Muyunda said.
When the zebra was spotted earlier this week, Ongwediva Constituency Councillor, Andreas Uutoni said relevant authorities were notified to ensure that the zebra is safely returned to where it came from.
