Peace returns to Mzuzu as stray buffalo finally spotted and killed

Department of National Parks and Wildlife in Mzuzu on Saturday managed to kill a stray buffalo that had been causing fear to communities in Lusangazi area for the past two weeks.

The animal was spotted on Friday in Matuli area near group village head (GVH) Kamangadazi, which is closer to Lusangazi in Mzuzu City.

Speaking in an interview with Malawi News Agency (Mana) on Monday, parks and wildlife assistant Alfred Mangani confirmed that the buffalo was killed Saturday evening.

“We were called by GVH Kamangadazi around 4 am and we deployed game rangers immediately who found it in Matuli. They managed to kill the wild animal around 4 pm in Solomon Village,” Mangani said.

Quizzed on why they decided to kill the animal instead of leading it to its territory, Mangani said Wildlife and Parks rules state that when the animal is found in an area where it is very far from its territory, it should be killed.

“If the area was closer to the park, we would have driven it back to the park. The park is very far so it could be difficult to drive it back without risking people’s lives,” he said.

Mangani further said the buffalo’s meat was sold to the people around the community where it was killed and that the money will be deposited into government coffers.

“According to our rules, meat from such game is sold to the nearest community where the animal was killed; and in this case, it was sold at K1000 per kilogram,” he said.

Meanwhile, the department has commended the community for their cooperation in searching for the wild animal.

The buffalo started terrorizing residents of Lusangazi area after a villager spotted it a fortnight ago.

In April 2010, a stray elephant from Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve killed a 77-year-old man in Sonda area on the outskirts of Mzuzu City before it was gunned down hours later.

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