Botswana: Dead Buffalo Floating in the Okavango Channel


The Voice (Francistown)

6 November 2007
Posted to the web 6 November 2007

Nomsa Ndlovu


The stench of rotten carcasses filled the Xakanaxa/Gadigwe channel of the Okavango delta in the Moremi Game Reserve last week. 14 dead buffalo floated randomly on top of the flowing water, some of the dead bodies were hooked onto tree branches.

Crocodile and some other carnivores of the river had a raucous feast, but the incident was an eyesore to the tourists on boat trips, as they were forced to block out the offensive smell.


Tour Guide, Lempheditse Odumetse of Desert and Delta said that it had been almost 10-days since the animals had died. Speculation is that they might have drowned while escaping an attack from lions.

"We think that the lions came when the beasts were drinking water on the shore of the channel. Buffaloes are not good swimmers; out of shock they might have pushed each other into the river and drowned," he said.

Tour operators expressed their fear over the water pollution that the putrid animals might cause. They said that they use the water straight from the source without any purification.


But the Department of Water Affairs (DWA) Senior Botanist in Aquatic Vegetation Control Unit, Dr Naidu Kurugundla said the carcasses could prove to be poisonous if water is drawn at an area surrounding them. He said that the wetland has a filtration system in which impurities are dealt with in a natural way.

"We have done water quality monitoring there several times and despite the impurities that enter into the system direct or indirectly, our results have always proven the water safe for drinking", he said.

Attempts to get a comment from the District Wildlife Coordinator as to why the animals are left to rot in the water, proved futile as he was said to be on leave. His assistant, John Mazebedi, was also said to be in a meeting.

i can't believe tour operators are stupid enough to admit that they use water directly from the river without any filtration. that is a recipe for disaster. sure the water has been tested as safe for drinking and probably is- UNTIL IT ISN'T AND IT IS TOO LATE. what part of better safe than sorry don't they understand?

I just gotta laugh when I read stuff like this where the "nature lovers" complain about nature.

"OOOHHH MMMYYY, that nature smells and it isn't pretty, where are the garbage collectors when you need them out here in the wilds, just like we have at home?"

JPK

quote:

Originally posted by Kathi:
Crocodile and some other carnivores of the river had a raucous feast, but the incident was an eyesore to the tourists on boat trips, as they were forced to block out the offensive smell.

One of the principles shared by all the tour operators in the Delta, is not to disturb / interfere with Nature in any way (sic). What are they bitching about? Things die, rot and get eaten in Nature. If the bunny-huggers don't like it, maybe they should go to some private reserve, where Nature is kept at arm's length. OK, I'll shut up now

Dead animals smell? Who knew?

Just use a good coarse filter and boil the water for ten minutes. That will strain out the rotting buffalo and get rid of the smell, too.

It will kill a lot of protozoans, flagellates, nematodes and spirochetes as well.

If you don't like the flat taste of the boiled water, simply quench a red hot iron in it before drinking.

What do people want from the Okavango, chlorination and fluoridation?