Ever wondered what hippo meat tastes like? The villagers at Ha-Makhuvha, situated near the Matatshe prison, decided to find out after a hippopotamus that had been terrorising the village for some time was killed by rangers from the Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (LEDET).
The hippo was shot last Thursday (9 March), and the meat was distributed among the villagers. Some cooked hippo stew, while others even made biltong.
The hippo had been spotted roaming the streets several times, but would often run to the nearby river. The spokesperson for LEDET, Mr Zaid Kalla said the roaming hippo had been reported, but they could not find the animal in the first week of searching for it. "Our officials had to monitor the reported hippo frequently, until they finally found and destroyed it last Thursday. The meat was given to the community there," said Kalla.
Mashudu Mamidze, one of the villagers who helped slaughter the big animal, said the villagers were scared to walk around at night because of the hippo. "We no longer felt safe because everywhere you would see its big footprints, and it was destroying our crops. We have a lot of maize and butternut crops around this village. The hippo was causing a lot of destruction at farms."
Mamidze said he was glad it had been caught and killed. "I also received a portion of meat. The meat is very fresh and tastes like beef, only, the meat is tastier. I am enjoying the meat and it has not given me any side effects. Only yesterday, I had biltong and pap for dinner, and I am feeling great," he said.
Kalla reminded communities that they are not allowed to hunt damage-causing animals (DCA) themselves. "If an animal is spotted roaming around the village, it must be reported to the nearest Nature Conservation offices which, in this case, is Thohoyandou. Nature Conservation has the mandate to destroy DCA in terms of legislation," said Kalla.