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Baby in cheetah attack scare

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An EIGHT-MONTH-OLD baby was last week almost attacked by two cheetahs while playing at her parents’ homestead in Chikombedzi as cases of wildlife straying into villages continue to increase in the country.

An EIGHT-MONTH-OLD baby was last week almost attacked by two cheetahs while playing at her parents’ homestead in Chikombedzi as cases of wildlife straying into villages continue to increase in the country.

BY MUNESU NYAKUDYA

According to a statement by the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks), the baby was playing outside when two cheetahs, which had reportedly earlier preyed on goats, almost attacked her before she was saved by brave villagers who — armed with axes, dogs and bayonets — chased away the two predators.

Zimparks said the villagers ended up killing one of the two cheetahs while the other fled into Gonarezhou National Park.

Zimparks spokesperson Caroline Washaya-Moyo said the cheetah incident was related to many other cases the wildlife authority had received lately.

In the same province, Washaya-Moyo said, two lions were reported to have attacked and killed three cattle in Chigwite Village, Save Valley Conservancy.

“No day passes without Zimparks offices receiving a report of elephants that stray into communities adjacent to wildlife areas,” Washaya Moyo said.

“The just-ended Christmas period saw communities spending more of their time protecting their fields from elephants.”

In Makore Village in Gokwe North, Washaya-Moyo said, 18 elephants were found in the community two days after Christmas.

She said that predators such as lions, hyenas and cheetahs were devising new hunting areas opting to attack softer targets.

“The just-ended Christmas period saw communities dedicating more of their time to protecting their fields from elephants as opposed to spending quality time with their families,” she said.

The elephants are suspected to have travelled from Matusadonha National Park, following Sanyati River.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe has rediscovered Artholeptis troglodytes (frog) which was believed to have gone extinct.

According to Zimparks, the last sighting of the frog was in 1967 and from then it was feared to be extinct.

“The frog was re-sighted on December 2, 2016 in Chimanimani by a team of enthusiasts who had gone out in search of the amphibian, ” Washaya-Moyo said.

The frog, which was initially discovered by Dr Broadley in 1965, was rediscovered by Bulawayo Natural History Museum research assistant Ronald Hopkins who was in the company of a South African scientist.