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NAIVASHA, KenyaIn May, George Mwaura went fishing with his close friend Babu along the swampy shores of Lake Naivasha, in central Kenya. “Babu was a quiet guy, a nice guy,” Mwaura recalled. “He’s the one who taught me patience. And he was quite good at fishing.”
They couldn’t afford a boat, so they’d wade into the water up to their chests to see what fish tilapia, carp, catfish had swum into their nets overnight. “We had a lucky catch that day,” Mwaura said. “But before we got the full catch, the hippo came again.”
They’d seen it that morning, its ears and eyes poking above the surface. “We beat the water with a stick to make noise, so the hippo went away,” he said.
1 Feb 2021, 14:44 GMT
Hippos soak in Lake Naivasha in part of a nature conservancy called Sanctuary Farm that was once dry land. Heavy rains have caused the lake to rise. Now fishermen and hippos share the swampy shorelines, leading to an increase in hippo attacks, which are often deadly. Hippos are mostly docile but can become aggressive when they feel threatened. They kill about 500 people a year in Africa, biting them with teeth that can be a foot and a half long.
In May, George Mwaura went fishing with his close friend Babu along the swampy shores of Lake Naivasha, in central Kenya. “Babu was a quiet guy, a nice guy,” Mwaura recalled. “He’s the one who taught me patience. And he was quite good at fishing.”
THE STANDARD By
Antony Gitonga |
January 7th 2021 at 00:00:00 GMT +0300
Hippos on the shores of Lake Naivasha. [Antony Gitonga, Standard]
The rising waters of Lake Naivasha has turned it into a dangerous zone where fishermen have perished, wild animals displaced and nearby structures submerged.
Over 30 people have died in the lake in the past one year, with a majority of them being illegal fishermen.
As more people enter the lake in search of daily bread, having lost their jobs due to Covid-19, there are fears that the numbers could rise.
Most of those who perished in the lake were crushed by hippos while others drowned.
THE STANDARD By
Antony Gitonga |
January 1st 2021 at 00:00:00 GMT +0300
Fishermen in Lake Naivasha wade through water hyacinth which has invaded a third of the water body making it hard to navigate or fish. [Antony Gitonga, Standard]
Water hyacinth has been identified as the major challenge currently facing Lake Naivasha, with one-third of the water body covered by the invasive weed.
This has adversely affected fishing and ecotourism activities with fishermen counting losses running into thousands of shillings every week.
This sorry state of affairs was revealed on the day three fishermen, who had been trapped by the weed near Kamere landing beach, were rescued after spending two days on the lake.