Mysterious ‘beast’ kills 18 chickens at Bwandilo Market in Malawi capital city

An unidentified beast Wednesday night killed eighteen layers chickens worth MK45,000 belonging to two business persons at Lilongwe’s Bwandilo Market.

The remaining chickens captured at the scene
The remaining chickens captured at the scene
The surviving chickens captured at the scene - Pic by Kondwani Magombo
The surviving chickens captured at the scene – Pic by Kondwani Magombo

The incident has raised fears on the security of people and livestock in the area following the unsolved tragedy where suspected stray dogs killed a woman from Njewa in Lilongwe on February 17 injuring a barely 4-month-old baby in the process.

The two business persons, Maxwell Jamu, from Mtandire, and Chrissie Lufeyo, from Kawale in Lilongwe, told Malawi News Agency (Mana) Thursday that the identity of the animal that killed their chickens remains a mystery although “the guard who witnessed the incident thinks it looked like a dog”.

The two said the guard told them that at around 10:00PM he heard noise from the chickens’ cages and when he rushed to check what was going on, he found more than a dozen chickens lying dead outside their cages, and saw what looked like a dog running away from the scene.

“The guard said he heard that sound a chicken makes when you catch it and when he run to the cages to check he found bodies of chickens and feathers all over the place, and something that looked like a dog ran away,” explained Jamu, who lost 8 chickens to the unidentified predator.

The businessman said mysteriously, all the 18 dead chickens, 8 from his cage and 10 from Chrissie Lufeyo’s cage, were intact, which ruled out the fact that it was a dog – or dogs that had preyed on them.

“All the chickens’ bodies were intact except for holes either on their necks, sides, or where the   legs joined the main body,” explained Jamu, adding, “And there was no single mark of blood around: it appeared like whatever killed them had only targeted at sucking blood from the chicken.”

He deduced that under normal circumstances, an ordinary dog would devour the chickens and, according to him, the fact that all the bodies of the chickens were found intact rules out any possibility that it was a dog.

Jamu added that people scrambled for the dead chickens and he said fear abounds as to whether consumption of the same was not a health risk.

The Area 47 Bwandiro Market lies along the M! Road, opposite where the Paul Kagame Road joins the country’s back bone road.

The Market’s main entrance has no gate and the small gate on the other side has is made of burglar bars but with spaces wide enough to let a dog of average size in.

Meanwhile, both the police and the Department of Animal Health and Livestock Development are yet to establish what exactly killed the woman in Njewa as they said they would “investigate the matter”.

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katakwe
9 years ago

Nyenga uyu osaopa ineso wandigwirila nkhuku 2000 usiku wadzulo

nganga bulawayo
nganga bulawayo
9 years ago

I have had similar experience at my house where chicken house has been attacked by blood sucking predator and a number of chickens killed. The predator is not as big a dog. It has a long tail and as small as a cat. My guard saw and chased it. It is not a monster. Put some traps and you will catch it. I am also waiting to catch it one day. I hope this helps!

SIBONDA
SIBONDA
9 years ago

That’s the typical l works of a ‘honey badger’

Nyakulama
Nyakulama
9 years ago

may be this is mzukwa. mfiti ina yomwe inamwalira yadzuka chinyama, plz find out you will note that somebody passed away just recently there is no way galu angasiye osatengapo even a single chicken. beware!

Chitseko
Chitseko
9 years ago
Reply to  Nyakulama

Pajatu Thindwa amati ufiti kulibe.

cbk
cbk
9 years ago

mwiri ameneyo!paja mwakulira ntauni.amalowa nchikwele chankhunda kufuna magazi.muopa chani apa.mtsinje siuwo pamusipo?

Kaweta
Kaweta
9 years ago

Very sad indeed. But i feel the beast could be more likely either poisonous snake or bush cat. It happened to me 10yrs ago when i had a similar bussiness. By that time, it was a poisonous snake that killed 9 chickens within 30 minutes that was around 8:00pm. we manage to fleed the snake by throwing hottest Piri-Piri (Tsabola) into the khola because it was difficult to kill the snake as it was hidding through the chickens. I had 30 vertinary chickens all together.

MKWAPU
MKWAPU
9 years ago

THERE R HYENAS AROUND

zione
zione
9 years ago

Iwe “poorest country” sungaonepo nkhani sinanga suzitsata za news. And u r contradicting urself. Zogwidwa chigololozo ndiye nkhani zanzeru? Ngati sukuonapo nkhani apa ndiwe mbuli yotheratu! Zachigololo zakozo akulembera ambuyako mxhiiiiii!

Yohane Mfiti
Yohane Mfiti
9 years ago

Amene anamuonayo ndigalu komat wamwa magazi ankhukuyo ndi kanyama kenat kamatchedwa gulugulu olo 100 zikhoza kukwana iyeyo amangomwa magazi basi moti simunazionepo zimenezo

Ndevu zamwayi
Ndevu zamwayi
9 years ago

Eeeee!!!! Interpol is needed for sure…kkkkk

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