Durban - A young hippo that is wandering the Mngeni Valley is a sub-adult male that probably used flood-damaged infrastructure to its advantage to escape an older dominant male, its owner told the “Independent on Saturday”.
Fred Worner said he was waiting for a hunter and a permit to be available to dart and relocate the animal, if possible.
“But it is in very thick bush and it will be difficult to get a vehicle there,” he said, adding that if the animal made its own way back and met up with the older bull, it would likely get killed.
He said the floods had caused damage and landslides not seen in years.
“We have spent a lot of time repairing fences since the beginning of the year. We’ve never seen rain like this. The water table is oozing water. There have been floods everywhere. It’s bizarre,” he said, noting that it was already winter when river levels are usually lower.
The Mngeni Valley Nature Reserve, a Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (Wessa) property, has put out a warning on Facebook, notifying the public, including hikers, of the hippo’s presence “in a vlei between Indulo campsite and Sunset Rock”.
“Please be extra careful when walking around the reserve. We advise you to please report to the reception before going to the reserve.”
Reserve manager Sfundo Sibiya said Wessa had been notified about the hippo “about a week ago” and that the reserve’s neighbours had since been told about it.
He also confirmed that the Mngeni Valley was natural hippo habitat.
Worner said he believed the hippo would have passed through the Hilton College Estate on its way to the Mngeni Valley Nature Reserve and, surprisingly, crossed a flooded river.
He added that the confluence of the Karkloof and Mngeni Rivers would have been on or around its route and he understood from the previous owners of this property that a pool there had once been known as Seekoeigat (Hippo Hole).
By the time of going to press, Ezemvelo had not been forthcoming with comment about the permit.
The Independent on Saturday