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| Momodou |
Posted - 16 Sep 2013 : 21:51:27
This is alarming! The same is happening at the Kuntaur & Touba rice fields.
I remember when the Field Force in the First Republic used to be sent to assist against Hippos in these areas.
The River Gambia National Park which is a sanctuary for Hippos in this area makes this rice fields in Niani, Lower Fuladou West and Niamina very vulnerable. The Army or PIU should be sent to assist the farmers instead of being used to intimidate or arrest the youth for playing football.
Hippos Invasion Halts Farm Activities in Niani Sukuta
By Alhagie F. S Sora
Foroyaa: Published on Monday, 16 September 2013
 A report emanating from farmers in Niani Sukuta Village indicates that hippos in the area have halted their farming activities in the area for nearly 2 months as a result of their intrusion in the rice fields. Speaking to this reporter, Alagi J.J. Kanteh, the “Alkalo” of Niani Sukuta village said for nearly 2 months now, there has not been effective farming in the said area due to the rampant movement of the hippos in the affected area. He reveals that the hippos have now abandoned the river and are inhabiting the swamps which according to him is almost a kilometre away from the river.
Mr. Alagi Kanteh has called on the government to intervene in the matter as a matter of urgency. He further reveals that not only would the Hippos threaten the women, but they equally eat up their young seedlings and also the early rice which are expected to mature within the first quarter of the raining season. He said the whole community is fearful that all their planted seedlings and rice varieties almost ready for harvest would all be consumed by the hippos. He asked how they would survive before the next raining season.
Alkalo Kanteh called on government to find or provide a sustainable control mechanism for this dangerous animal to allow them carry on their farming activities. Karaboulie Ceesay, a village youth in Niani Sukuta said since late July to August, there has not been any serious farm work in the said area. He told this reporter that each time their mums go to the swamps, the hippos would chase them away from their work. He said sometimes more than ten hippos would invade the rice fields and their presence he said is frightening enough to stop women from working at the farm. He said sometimes he moblises youth to go to the swamps and provide security for the women rice growers, which he said is risky for them as well.
“We are calling on government to urgently consider this issue if not our whole district will cry over starvation in the coming years,” He advised. Mr.Ceesay concluded that by now the hippos are occupying their village farms, but may proceed to nearby village farms if nothing is done about it.
Source: Foroyaa |
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| Momodou |
Posted - 15 May 2014 : 11:46:26
Hippo ‘disrupts’ conveyance at Niamina-Kuntaur crossing
By: Lamin SM Jawo in Janjangbureh, CRR
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Latest reports to emerge from the Central River Region (CRR) have indicated that passengers are being attacked on a boat by a hippo at the Niamina-Kuntaur crossing.
Local residents in the area have told the Daily Observer’s regional correspondent that the marauding hippo is a ‘solitary animal’ that hides itself from other hippos for safety. “The hippo is so pugnacious and attacks anybody it sees nearby,” a local resident told the Daily Observer.
The residents used the opportunity to launch an appeal for urgent help in order to avoid a possible disaster. They asserted that many people use the crossing point to access their rice fields, health facilities and markets, but lamented that the hippo’s attacks are ‘disrupting’ daily routines.
The chief of Niani, Alhaji Pierre Bah, also confirmed the attack to the Daily Observer, saying he has received many complaints about the hippo menace at the crossing point. He seized the opportunity to appeal for immediate assistance in order to protect the lives of the residents.
Source: Daily Observer |
| Momodou |
Posted - 26 Mar 2014 : 12:24:54
A breeding ground for the hippos and fence along the river should be a solution ifnthere are enough funds. "This is the result of encroachment of the breeding ground of the hippos" says an environmantalist.
The farmers in Kuntaur Fullakunda are very desperate because their havest was very poor the past rainy season.
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What can CRR do about the hippos? -Lawmaker laments latest rampage
By Bekai Njie
Daily Observer: Wednesday, March 26, 2014
It is becoming an entrenched conflict between hippos and farmers with one incident following the other. The ceaseless rampage on rice fields by hippos in many parts of Central River Region (CRR) has raised the question as to what the people of this region could practically do to at least minimise the destruction that continue to undermine their food production capacities.
With the latest hippo rampage reported in Kuntaur Fullakunda and its surrounding villages in Niani district, the lawmaker for that constituency, Hon. Demba B.T Sambou, told the Daily Observer Monday that he was deeply concerned over the 'continuous destruction' of their rice fields by the hippos. He lamented that such has a great potential to derail the overall agricultural production objective in the area.
He said the uncontrollable activities of hippos have hindered rice production after a number of nursery farmers were destroyed in the rampage. “This incident is on the increase,” he lamented, while appealing on behalf of farmers for assistance in the form of seeds for continued production.
Hon. Sambou, who described his constituency as a hub for rice production in CRR, appealed again for action to be taken to arrest the situation. “So I am appealing to the authorities concerned to come to the aid of these people in order to put the situation under control,” he appealed.
One of the affected farmers from Kuntaur Fullakunda, Kemo Jawo, confirmed the destruction, noting that the hippo rampage has been going on for the past days. “People here are very desperate because the hippos are coming here now on a daily basis and it’s on the increase. Now we are appealing for help from concerned authorities so that we can effectively do our rice production,” he concluded.
Source: Daily Observer |
| Momodou |
Posted - 12 Nov 2013 : 08:46:14
It's not only Hippos but now snakes are also preventing farmers of Kuntaur Fulakunda from their fields. Families have abandoned their rice fields because of fear of poisonous snakes which are believed to come from the nearby islands after the rainy season floods.
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| Momodou |
Posted - 04 Nov 2013 : 18:48:49
Hippos Pose a Threat to Food Security Director Wild life Explains
By Sarjo Camara Singateh
Foroyaa: Published on Saturday, 02 November 2013
Information emanating from farmers in the Central River North of the Gambia hints at a threat of hunger in the near future because of crop failure. According to a farmer, Mr. Darboe, the farmers in CRR North have been afflicted with the persistent invasion of hippos, Baboons and pigs on their crops throughout the rainy season. Mr. Darboe said farmers have done very well to tend their crops, but because they are helpless regarding wild animals intrusion into their farms, they lost more than half their harvest to wild animals. According to the farmers from Sukuta village in the Niani district of CRR South, hippos drive them from their rice fields and consume almost everything and they had no means to avoid the destruction. Mr Darboe said farmers from Nianija, Niani , Sami and even some parts of CRR South have experienced the same problems which has in effect threaten them with imminent hunger for the year.
“It is not that we have not done effort to produce but there is no ammunition available in the rural areas and we are not supposed to kill the animals,” he said. He calls on the National Disaster Relief to supplement relief to them otherwise it would become a disaster.
The National Disaster Relief association was contacted but an official there said they are not aware of any report from the area regarding the issue. She referred this reporter to the Parks and Wildlife department. The Director of Parks and Wildlife, Mr.Momodou L. Kassama in an interview with this paper disclosed the efforts that are being made to look into the issue of the hippos and also to recount them for possible actions. He indicated that almost 90% of the population of hippos resides in the Central River region where the food basket of the country is.
He said that is why many a time hippos appear in their rice fields. He further stated that the entire hippo issue is at the purview of the National Assembly to look at the hippo policy and that they cannot just jump and kill them because they are a national treasure. According to Mr. Kassama, they are aware of the attacks of hippos on crops in Naini Sukuta, but they are not aware of that of Wassu and Janjangbureh. He said for the bush pigs they have hunting camps in Njaw, Sangule and Madiana; and from 1st to 30th April, they permitted them to kill a number of bush pigs. Mr Kassama said bush pigs profligates very fast and their population increases fast.
Mr.Kassama noted that for Baboons they are working with PIWAM in doing national sensitisation to conduct a national census on baboons to recount and know the population index to be able to act on that. He said government is fully aware of the plight of the farmers. He said they would do their best to mitigate but they cannot alienate these wild animals because they are gifts from God.
Mr.Kassama stated that through the intervention of UNDP in communities like Kununku, Tuba Dembasana, Sambelleh Kunda, Wassu and Bush town, they will construct walls or hippo barriers that will keep the hippos not to come to farmers but in that case they may move to another area. He noted that we need to balance the biodiversity against human needs as these wild animals are important to the nation.
The Director of parks and wild life Mr.Kassama said human beings and wild animals are all competing on the same space and that’s why wild animals cannot stay in the bush without reaching the places where human affairs are done. He said at first wild fruits are for only animals but today because of the economic ventures, if you go to the market you find “Sabaa, Sengalaces, Foly, Talo“they are all consumed by human beings now. What is left for the wild animals is too minimal,” he lamented.
He advised that hippos are very dangerous and people should not attack them. He also advised that if you shoot a hippo you must kill otherwise if you maim it or wound it that makes it wilder and angrier and that could be detrimental to that particular area. He stated that if a hippo poses any threat to any community; let them inform the Governors or local organising committees for onward transmission to the authority. “Hippos are semi aquatic, they don’t leave in water. They live outside.
Hippos are concentrated in CRR. We are aware that Naini Sukuta is where a nursing hippo with the calving mother is somewhere rearing a baby which is a place people are farming and normally hippos are very aggressive when nursing. Mr.Kassama noted that when people are doing these activities, they don’t look at the environment and social management plan or the environmental assessment impact.
Source: Foroyaa |
| Momodou |
Posted - 30 Sep 2013 : 11:39:02
quote:
Originally posted by Sister Omega
.....Also I visited Mungo Parks grave at kerentaba. Please correct me Guys if I am mispronouncing these place names as I am really tired.
 The Place is Karantaba Tenda in Niani District in CRR. Its not where he was buried. The place is a memorial where he set out to search for the source of the Niger.... |
| gambiabev |
Posted - 30 Sep 2013 : 08:27:07
Sister it's great to have you back. Have you been to Gambia recently? If so, how do you find it? |
| Sister Omega |
Posted - 29 Sep 2013 : 23:26:38
Hi Bev,
wassau is beautiful it was an outer worldly experience for me it is a very spiritual place. I visited there in 2004 as an International observer. we stayed in tendeaba lodge in Janjanbureh.I have pictures of me at wassau on my blog. Also I visited Mungo Parks grave at kerentaba. Please correct me Guys if I am mispronouncing these place names as I am really tired.I just thought I'd reply to you gambiabev as I just saw your post again you can see me at Mungo parks grave on my blog under the artical Palavar. |
| gambiabev |
Posted - 29 Sep 2013 : 10:44:56
Sister I am interested to hear you have been to this area. I really want to go to Wassu and understand this is fairly close.
How long does the journey take from the coast?
Can u recommend anywhere to stay? Are there any tourist lodges?
Thanks |
| Sister Omega |
Posted - 28 Sep 2013 : 23:56:50
Thanks for this interesting post Mommodou having stayed in this region and passing Hippo Island. Those who are aware of how danagerous hippos are to river communities their does need to be a comprehensive strategy put into place to safeguard secure livelihoods and to prevent the Hippos from destroying crops. There's no reason why farmers should leave their farms to Hippos to feast on the crops to fulfil some western fantasy of a cartoon cutey cuddle hippo. Hippos are dangerous and are predatory animals.
Mommodou you raised a good point I would also add instead of the army fleecing bush taxis and motorists for extra money down the North and South Bank. They should start to track some Hippos and find out what is the root of the Hippos unsettled behaviour. After all with the excessive rains that swept the country around the time the Hippos moved location. Maybe there lays the croax of the problem it could be as simple the floodplain now has extend for the Hippo sufficiently to adapt to moving into the rice fields where it is much safer with an abundance. The longer they are left their without being pursued to vacate they will take up permanent residency.
Come on soliders get your boots dirty and pursuade those hippos to swim back to their islands.
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| gambiabev |
Posted - 28 Sep 2013 : 10:39:43
This is really interesting. Thanks for posting it.
How frightening for the local people. |
| Momodou |
Posted - 26 Sep 2013 : 18:03:08
HIPPOS THREATEN LIVES IN NIANI SUKUTA
By Abdoulie G. Dibba
Foroyaa: Published on Wednesday, 25 September 2013
Information emanating from farmers in Niani Sukuta Village in the Niani District Central River Region (CRR) North of the Gambia revealed that on Friday,20th September 2013, three hippos threatened lives of farmers, including a lactating mother and pregnant women, when they appeared at a position between the village and the rice fields, thus blocking these farmers from entering the village. Talking to Maram Ceesay, one of the women involved in the incident, on Saturday,21st of September 2013, she explained that they have halted their farming activities in the area for nearly two months now as a result of the hippo intrusion into their rice fields. She said they were expecting that by now the hippos would have returned to the river but to their surprise they have now abandoned the river and are using the swamps as their habitat which, according to her, is almost a kilometre away from the river.
According to Maram, the three hippos on Friday did not prevent them from going to their rice fields but had threatened their lives as they appeared between the village and the fields when they were there. She said this incident posed a real threat to their lives as they had lactating and pregnant women in their midst who cannot run if that was an option to save their lives from an attack by these huge animals.
Alasan Kanteh, a resident of the village, shared the concerns raised by Maram and added that the authorities should intervene as the whole community fear that the already planted rice plants of different varieties which are almost ready for harvest would all be consumed by the invading hippos and thus exacerbate their food insecurity. Talking to the Alkalo of the village, Alagi J.J. Kanteh, also confirmed that there has not been effective farming in the said area for nearly two months now due to the presence of the hippos.
Asked whether the matter was reported to the authorities, the Alkalo responded in the positive and went further to explain that one Mr. Jobarbeh of the Parks and Wildlife stationed at Janjanbureh even visited the area two weeks ago but that nothing is done yet with the hippo invasion to enable the farmers to resume their normal work on their rice fields. On the number of farmers affected by the invasion of the hippos, Alkalo Kanteh estimated that about 600 farmers are being prevented from having access to their rice farms.
This reporter will visit the Department of Parks and Wildlife today to find out their take on the issue of the hippo invasion of rice fields in Niani Sukuta which is not threatening livelihoods but the lives of people as well.
PARKS AND WILDLIFE DIRECTOR ON HIPPO INVASION IN NIANI SUKUTA
By Abdoulie G. Dibba
Foroyaa: Published on Thursday, 26 September 2013
Following the publication of the report emanating from the residents of Niani Sukuta Village in the Northern part of Central River Region (CRR) regarding the threat posed to women farmers by three hippos that on Friday, 20th September 2013 and the promise by Foroyaa to talk to officials on the matter, the Acting Director of Parks and Wildlife Management (DPWM), Mr. Modou Lamin Gassama, responded to the concerns by explaining the moves being taken by his department to address the problem.
Talking to this reporter in his office at Abuko yesterday, the Acting Director of the Department of Parks and Wildlife Management said they have received a letter on the 12th September 2013 captioned “complaint Against the Destruction of hippos at Sukuta village in Niani District” from the Governor of CRR. He said after receiving the letter, he deployed one Musa Jobarteh who is stationed at the River Gambia Natural Park in CRR to go to the area to confirm and explore the level of destruction and give them feedback. Mr. Gassama disclosed that his Department has prepared a proposal which will ensure that both the drive for food security and wildlife conservation could be promoted and this proposal is now before Cabinet.
The DPWM Director said the best solution is the building of fences between the river and the rice fields leaving a grazing space for the hippos which he said they are doing at the rice fields at Sambel Kunda - Touba Demba Sama, Bush Town and Wassu. Regarding the authorization of local hunters to kill the hippos, Director Gassama noted that this cannot be done at random simply because the wildlife is protected by the International Union for Conservation of Nature which Gambia is a signatory. Mr . Gassama further disclosed that in their proposal, the counting of hippos to know the number in the Gambia and were they are mostly populated is clearly stated because they need information on this before any killing can be done.
The Parks and Wildlife Director concluded by calling on the farmers in the Gambia not to encroach the grazing area of the hippos by farming closer to the river because the hippos cannot live in the river.
Source: Foroyaa |
| Momodou |
Posted - 25 Sep 2013 : 14:39:46
Rural dwellers lament ‘persistent’ hippo rampage
Daily Observer: Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Rural dwellers in the community of Kuntaur, Central River Region (CRR), have lamented what they call the ‘persistent’ rampage by hippopotami that live in a nearby river, which not only invade their rice fields, but the community as well.
The Kuntaur residents were speaking recently during a meeting with the Lands and Regional Government minister, Momodou FK Kolley, who visited the community as part of his ongoing nationwide tour.
The women representative, Aunty Ceesay, lamented the threats posed to them by the hippos, saying that initially the wild animals only attack their rice fields, but that the situation has changed now. “At night we find it very difficult to sleep because of the hippos that live at the riverside. They enter peoples’ compound and this is a serious concern,” the women leader claimed.
She appealed to the authorities concerned to come to their aid in arresting the situation for their safety. “Recently a compound housing a Madarassa was attacked by a hippo, but luckily the children saw it coming and ran for safety,” she told the minister and delegation.
The alkalo of Kuntaur, Alhaji Seedy Bensouda, also appealed to the government to help them address the hippo menace, while noting that the nearby river is now becoming a threat to the village. This, he added, is due to the fact that it is encroaching on nearby compounds, thus over-flooding them.....
Source: Daily Observer |
| gambiabev |
Posted - 22 Sep 2013 : 13:39:03
I have just read the link and seen that it is closed to tourists. Perhaps a small scale managed tourist project could be part of the solution.
I would like to go there and to George Town. Perhaps next time? As a change from Tendaba. |
| gambiabev |
Posted - 22 Sep 2013 : 13:35:02
I feel so sorry for these people that all their hard work has gone to waste.
However, it is wonderful to hear that the hippos are thriving from the wildlife point of view.
How does man and animal coexist is a problem in many countries.
Could people be compensated for their land and be resettled?
Or could the hippos be encouraged to move to a more suitable area.
I don't know Gambian Geography very well. Is this on the North bank? When I return to Gambia I would love to see hippos in the wild.
Perhaps tourism could be developed around this to give the people a different source of income? |
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