Rampaging hippopotamus killed in Gombe, meat shared

A notorious hippopotamus terrorising people of Yamaltu/Deba Local Government, Gombe State since 2013 has been killed.
It was killed on Wednesday night by soldiers and local hunters.
The killing, which took place near Dadinkowa Dam, was confirmed by the Permanent Secretary, Gombe State Ministry of Environment and Forest Resources, Mr Adamu Pukuma.
He said the animal, apart from terrorising people, had also been destroying crops and fishing facilities in the area.
“We discovered it about two and a half years ago, but unfortunately, it has become very notorious and dangerous to people. The community wrote to the local government and the ministry, complaining about the threat of the animal and seeking the approval of the governor to take action.
“We received the approval last week, and decided to go hunting for it, an exercise that took us one week before the animal was finally spotted yesterday (Wednesday) night.
“We were lucky to trap it outside. We used military men to shoot it, with the help of the local hunters. We shot it yesterday (Wednesday) night around 10:30 pm when it came out to eat grasses, and today (Thursday), we butchered it into pieces.
“There are about 100 of them in the water, but the one that was killed had been crossing to the lower side of the dam and causing havoc.
“Hippopotamuses are among the animals endangered and going extinct. We have been protecting them but this particular one that was killed was notorious. It killed people around the area, as well as destroyed crops and fishing equipment. There were complaints from the people and that was why it was killed to protect lives and property”.
Leader of fishermen in Dadinkowa, Malam Sa’adu Sarkinruwa, said that the hippopotamus killed no fewer than five persons in the community in the past two and a half years.
After killing the animal, its meat was shared among those that actively participated in hunting it down.