Problem animals.
Why don’t they just move them somewhere else?
Many will ask that question as if the solution was that simple. Human development is encroaching into a majority of the wild areas that are left, making it difficult to find new, human-free areas for problematic animals.
A recent occurrence in Namibia highlights the complications surrounding animal relocations in Africa.
In November 2017, almost 200 livestock were killed by a pride of lions in the Torra Conservancy in north-west Namibia.
Wanting to reduce human-wildlife conflict in the area, the government relocated the lions to the Erongo region in the west.
However, livestock farmers reside in that area as well. While they had not experienced any documented fatalities, the farmers expressed extreme discomfort with the proximity of the lions to their land.
Since the National Policy on Human-Wildlife Conflict Management is awaiting approval from Parliament, the government decided it was best to move the pride again to avoid public concern. The lions will be uprooted to a third place – Etosha National Park.
This example shows how difficult relocating animals can be even with available resources. When time labor and money is scarce, these relocations become even more challenging for governments and organizations.
Will moving a pride of lions twice in a few months prove too stressful for the animals?
Source Xinhua World News
