- Number of hippos in the lake are on the rise
- This has led to an increase in attacks
Image: George Murage
KWS warders have finally captured the six killer hippos that had invaded Naivasha sewer plant killing one worker and paralysing operations.
The hippos were captured following a 10-day operation that saw them relocated to Laikipia county after two years of fear and anxiety.
In the last one month, the hippos have killed one worker in the plant and seriously injured five people including a student from one of the primary schools in the town.
The hippos that relocated from the nearby Lake Naivasha, have adversely affected operations in the sewer plant before KWS officers bowed to pressure and relocated them.
According to Dr Dominic Mijele, a vet with KWS, the animals would be relocated to a ranch in Laikipia and away from human settlement following the reported attacks.
The assistant director termed the exercise as tricky and complicated as it involved a lactating mother, adding that they could not dart the animals as is the case in others.
“We have finally managed to capture the six hippos that had invaded the sewer plant for some time attacking several people and we have relocated them to Laikipia,” he said.
Speaking at the sewer plant, he attributed the rising cases of hippo attacks to human encroachment, adding that the relocation exercise cost KWS over Sh3 million.
“We are now asking the management of the sewer plant to fence that facility to keep away other hippos from the lake from accessing this plant,” he said.
Lakeview MCA Alex Mbugua lauded the move noting that the presence of the hippos had adversely affected operations and led to the loss of a life.
Mbugua decried rising cases of human-wildlife conflict in Naivasha leading to massive loss of crops and human deaths as the wild animals continued to roam freely in homes.
“It’s sad that KWS had to act after one man lost his life to the hippo attack, we hope that in future they will be proactive before the animals kill someone,” he said.
According to the Wildlife Research and Training Institute, the lake has an estimated 500 hippos, a number deemed as optimal for the water body.
In the last one year, over 20 people, mainly foot-fishermen have either been killed or maimed by the hippos while fishing.