Rice farmers in northwestern Nigeria have celebrated the killing of a feared hippopotamus that had made residents live in dread of fishing in the area for a long time.
The triumphant development came after the hippo killed a fisherman who worked for the local traditional leader in Yauri, Kebbi State.
Residents gave accounts that the hippo had killed more farmers than the fisherman, advancing to what made many deserted the areas from fishing or farming.
After the death of the local fisherman, a report from BBC noted that Kebbi state government ordered that the animal be killed for the safety of the community living along the River Niger.
Bearing this in mind, the rice farmers and fishermen launched themselves into a rampaging hunt of the hippo with a weapon called “zagos”.
They hunted down the killer hippo and the hunting lasted several weeks before they billed it to victory.
Its carcass has since been ferried in
a canoe to the palace of one of the Emir of Yauri’s high-ranking administrators, where it has been butchered and its meat given to those in local community.
“We are a town of fishermen and farmers and this hippo has made many to stop going out due to fear of an attack,” resident Sani Yauri said.
“Apart from killing a member of the emir’s staff, it also seriously injured another person – not also forgetting the damage it regularly does to our farmlands.
“We are happy it has been killed and people came out in jubilation – and also got their share of the meat.”
Photos of the dead animal have been widely shared on social media – with mixed reactions: some hailed members of the local community for standing up for themselves while others expressed concern about the welfare of the animal.
Nigeria’s hippo population has declined rapidly over the last few decades – estimates suggest there are now around 100 animals, which mainly live in conservation areas.
The common hippopotamus is on the red list of threatened species put together by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
“This is an endangered species and I was sad when I saw the video clip of people celebrating after it was killed,” Isyaku Abdullahi, animal rights activist and founder of Nigeria’s African Voice for Animals Initiative said in an interview with the BBC.
“What the people of Yauri ought to have done was to report to relevant authorities who would capture and relocate it.”
He said communities living in rural areas, especially places like Kebbi state where there are several rivers and lakes, needed to be made aware of other options when dealing with the dangerous mammals.
Kebbi is renowned for hosting the annual Argungu Fishing Festival, which is on the United Nations’ cultural heritage list.
Hippos are the third-largest land mammal and their teeth can reach up to 50.8cm (20in) in length. Despite their size, they can also reach speeds of up to 20mph (32km/h).
While the animals are herbivores, they can become highly aggressive when they feel threatened or their habitats are disturbed – and kill around 500 people every year in Africa.
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