Two Killed in Tana river Hippo attack

HOLA Wednesday, June 28, 2023

KNA By Simon Guruba

Tana River County Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) Warden Ms. Aisha Chunaa has cautioned residents crossing River Tana to be wary of crocodiles and hippos preying in the water body.

She told residents living along the banks of the crocodile-infested river to tread carefully to avert attacks from the animals living in the marine ecosystem.

Speaking at Majengo village after visiting the families of two people who were recently attacked and killed by a Hippopotamus while crossing the river, Ms.Chunaa divulged that one person was killed in Majengo while the other lost his life in the Kilindini area.

She urged the area residents to ensure that while crossing the River, they must be in groups of at least three people to scare away the Hippos warning that chances of attack while crossing alone were higher.

The Warden advised the residents to make noise to scare away animals and strike the waters before crossing to ensure that the passage was secured.

She also advised those families that had lost their kin following the attack to make sure the bodies are taken for postmortem before burial so that the reports could be submitted to KWS offices for compensation.

She warned that, in case the bodies will be buried before a postmortem report was obtained, the compensation claim could be rejected on technical grounds.

She urged the area residents to follow the right procedures so that their loved ones could be considered for compensation adding that death cases could attract up to Sh5 million in compensation.

Courtesy ; K. N. A