The population of wild animals at Queen Elizabeth National Park has abridged by eight after the death of five hyenas, two jennets and a buffalo near Kasenyi fishing village within the park.

Park officials surmise that the animals were poisoned for witchcraft since one of the carcasses of the hyenas was beheaded and the rest had their noses cut off.
This is because the body parts of wild animals are extensively used in traditional rituals.

Uganda Wildlife authority’s spokesperson Lillian Nsubuga said pellets of poison were found on the moldy offal that were used to bait the hyenas and that some of the granules could have spread into the grass, revealing the herbivores to danger.

She said tests on the carcasses had indicated that intestinal poisoning killed the animals.
She said hyenas have a stiff competition among the young and that because of this a few of them survive.

In her research, Lillian found out that no domestic animals were killed in the park neighboring communities so the cause for the animal poisoning was still mysterious.

BY NAMISI

Uganda Safari News