16 Mar 2025

Kgosi Gaolatlhe Kgosigaenyatswe of Nxaraga has raised concern over the growing threat posed by hippos roaming the surroundings and invading homes.
Following the recent rains which filled most water sources, he said they had experienced an influx of hippos at Nxaraga lagoon, which he said were aggressive and posing danger to residents.
Kgosi Kgosigaenyatswe said the hippos that had been staying in the lagoon were not aggressive as they were fed and watered compared to those migrating from other water sources.
“The hippos from other sources are causing havoc in our village as they roam around invading homesteads while some attack people out searching for their livestock in the bush. What worries me more is that the population has continued to grow exponentially,” he said in an interview with BOPA.
He said the situation was worsened by tall grass, stating that hippos spent most of their sunlight hours partially submerged in water and only leave the water after dusk in order to look for grazing grass.
However, there were some reports that the hippos travelled as far as Komana, approximately 15km from Nxaraga, in search of food while some leave because of infights.
He explained that hippos are territorial and could be aggressive to each other due to competition for space.
Kgosi Kgosigaenyatswe urged residents to refrain from disturbing wild animals when they come across them since they can be more dangerous if provoked.
Village Development Committee chairperson, Mr Modriver Othusitse, concurred that the hippos were enjoying a more aquatic lifestyle and if their population kept growing the way it does, the potential impact could be much more severe.
He said the hippos feed at night, then spend the day cooling off in the water and it was unfortunate as some residents who stayed in the nearby cattleposts do their shopping at Nxaraga and returned at night when the hippos were out feeding.
He said some people move around in search of their livestock along the river bank.  Mr Othusitse cited a recent incident, in which a 50-year-old man was brutally attacked and killed by a hippo in the bush along the Nxaraga River banks while searching for his goats.
While he appreciated that the river was a source of life, he appealed to members of the community to be vigilant and stop travelling to the river at night as it was difficult to see the animals from a distance due to tall grasses and other vegetation.
Meanwhile, Save Wildlife Conservation organisation, in collaboration with Department of Wildlife and National Parks had been feeding and watering the hippos at the lagoon as they were struggling due to the drying of water sources.
The hippos were stranded in the mud and struggling to cool themselves due to less water in the pool while others died due to territorial fights as they were overpopulated and some stakeholders called on the relevant authority to consider relocating the hippos to areas where water levels were still intact.ENDS