(APS) – Movements of hippos out of the Gambia River were reported this Sunday by residents of Badi, a village in the commune of Dialakoto, said the head of the Missirah water and forest brigade, Warrant Officer -chef Mame Malick Thiam.
”We were informed of a herd of hippos, which would have emerged from the Gambia River, particularly in Badi, a village located in the Niokolo Koba National Park. But, until now, our services have not yet seen these hippos. We only received photos showing traces on the ground of these animals,” he said, during an interview with APS.
”We haven’t seen this herd yet, no one has been able to photograph it either, it’s just stories from farmers and photos showing traces that we have at this moment. However, we call on the populations of the area to be vigilant and cautious, because these are species that are not used to seeing humans,” he said.
The chief warrant officer informed that agents from the water and forestry service based in Dialakoto had gone to the site to collect stories from the villagers and take photos of the traces on the ground of this herd.
According to him, in the event of a possible exit of the hippos from the Gambia River, this situation could be explained by climate changes accentuating the rise in the waters of the Gambia River.
”If these animals have left the Gambia River, it is because there is a strong rise in water levels. This leads to an increase in the speed of the current in the river bed,” he explained.
”And so, when such a situation happens, animals like hippos come out of the river to protect themselves and return to the water as soon as the situation normalizes,” he added.
Mame Malick Thiam also warned of the rising waters of the Gambia River, which risk submerging several bridges in the commune of Missirah.
”The Gambia River has experienced an extraordinary rise to the point that part of the Maina bridge is submerged. It’s the same situation at the Niaoulé bridge and Wassadou,” he pointed out.
”It also turns out that the Gouloumbou-Sinthian route is currently impacted. To go to Sinthian, it is extremely difficult, the populations are forced to bypass [sur] kilometers from Missirah,” he said.
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