Queen Elizabeth loses 5 hyenas
THE population of wild animals at Queen Elizabeth National Park has reduced by eight after the death of five hyenas, two jennets and a buffalo near Kasenyi fishing village within the park.
By Gerald Tenywa
THE population of wild animals at Queen Elizabeth National Park has reduced by eight after the death of five hyenas, two jennets and a buffalo near Kasenyi fishing village within the park.
Park officials suspect the animals were poisoned for witchcraft since one of the carcasses of the hyenas was beheaded and the rest had their noses cut off.
The body parts of wild animals are widely used in traditional rituals.
Uganda Wildlife authority’s spokesperson Lillian Nsubuga said granules of poison were found on the decomposing offal that were used to bait the hyenas and that some of the granules could have spread into the grass, exposing the herbivores to danger.
She said tests on the carcasses had indicated that intestinal poisoning killed the animals.
“This is very sad for wildlife because hyenas are few,’’ said Nsubuga.
She said hyenas have a stiff competition among the young and that because of this a few of them survive.
Nsubuga said no domestic animals were killed by the poison. “We asked the communities whether they had lost any domestic animal and we failed to find any.’’
THE population of wild animals at Queen Elizabeth National Park has reduced by eight after the death of five hyenas, two jennets and a buffalo near Kasenyi fishing village within the park.
Park officials suspect the animals were poisoned for witchcraft since one of the carcasses of the hyenas was beheaded and the rest had their noses cut off.
The body parts of wild animals are widely used in traditional rituals.
Uganda Wildlife authority’s spokesperson Lillian Nsubuga said granules of poison were found on the decomposing offal that were used to bait the hyenas and that some of the granules could have spread into the grass, exposing the herbivores to danger.
She said tests on the carcasses had indicated that intestinal poisoning killed the animals.
“This is very sad for wildlife because hyenas are few,’’ said Nsubuga.
She said hyenas have a stiff competition among the young and that because of this a few of them survive.
Nsubuga said no domestic animals were killed by the poison. “We asked the communities whether they had lost any domestic animal and we failed to find any.’’