By Flavia Ajok
Uganda Wildlife authority (UWA) has advised Buliisa residents living near the shores of Lake Albert to avoid provoking hippos and crocodiles that have continued to stray into their homes due to rising waters from Lake Albert.
Bashir Hangi, the public relations officer at UWA, acknowledged that the aquatic animals have entered residential areas due to rising water levels. The animals has created panic and anxiety among residents who fear for their lives.
Hangi now advises residents to avoid provoking these animals, suggesting that peaceful co-existence could mitigate the danger these animals pose to them.
The rising water levels have already submerged over 1,000 homesteads, forcing many to seek shelter under trees, in churches, schools, and makeshift structures.
The affected communities include Magali, Kawaibanda, Triangle, Tugombili, Kigangaizi, Walukuba, Boma, Bugoigo, and Kamagongoro. The floods have also endangered Butiaba Primary School, causing many pupils to abandon classes.
Residents report that the hippos and crocodiles have killed and injured several domestic animals, including cows, pigs, sheep, and goats.
The presence of these animals near Butiaba Primary School poses a significant risk to pupils, who could be attacked while attending or walking to school. Gilbert Kyalisiima, a fisherman at Kamagongoro landing site, said the situation has forced parents to keep their children at home for fear of attacks.
In the year 2022 and 2023, 10 deaths were recorded as a result of several attacks by hippo and crocodile attacks, with seven fatalities attributed to crocodiles and three to hippos.
