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Wednesday, August 6, 2003 - Web posted at 9:49:59 GMT Slaughtered animal was rare Aardwolf OSHAKATI - The search for a mystery animal believed to be killing livestock in the Oshana Region may not be over. |
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Experts say an animal killed at the weekend could not have been the culprit. Officials from the Ministry of Environment and Tourism said on Monday that an animal killed by villagers over the weekend was an Aardwolf. The Aardwolf, which is a small black-striped African mammal of the hyena family, survives mainly on termites and other insects and is not capable of attacking and killing bigger animals such as goats. In addition, information provided to The Namibian by a concerned member of the public states that the Aardwolf does not prey on mammals and that its teeth are "too small to chew meat". Further, the Aardwolf is regarded as "extremely rare". Nampa reports that a Ministry of Environment official, Elias Amunime, said that the mystery animal killing livestock at Okambonde near Oniipa and neighbouring villages was still at large. An Aardwolf would only attack a goat if it was suffering from rabies, Amunime said. Over the weekend, villagers in the Okatyali constituency in the Oshana Region rejoiced in the belief that they had killed the mysterious wild animal that had been killing goats and chickens. They followed the tracks of what they believed to be the mystery animal, and found it hiding in a trench at Okatunduya village. But it now seems to have been a case of mistaken identity, and that the Aardwolf was an innocent victim. Okatyali Regional Councillor Joseph Mupetami and his people handed over the body of the animal to authorities at Ondangwa for identification. - Nampa and Own Reporter |
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