In the southern part of Côte d’Ivoire, near Tiassalé, along the Bandama River, fishermen of Malian descent complain of the growing number of accidents, sometimes fatal, that follow attacks by hippos, a protected and vulnerable species. According to them, animals are becoming more and more aggressive and some are now considering giving up their traditional occupations because of this daily danger. For researchers, intensive agriculture could explain this behavior and the increase in conflicts between humans and wildlife, but studies are lacking on this topic.
From his canoe, Ali returns to the banks of the majestic Bandama River. Under the arched bridge of Tiassalé, the current is nervous, the vegetation lush, and hippos often pass by letting their ears or nostrils protrude beyond the surface of the water. Facing danger this morning, the fisherman prefers to suspend his crayfish hunt. “Hippos prevent me from working today. There’s even one that was in front of me, I saw his foot, he did not sleep, it’s really a danger to us,” Ali complains.
A few steps away, in the fishing village of Bozo – an ethnic group found mainly in Mali and whose members are renowned for being good swimmers – the stories, sometimes dramatic, of accidents between canoeists and hippos are innumerable. Every man in the community has experienced at least one incident with water mammals that can weigh up to 4.5 tons. Between two mud dwellings, the fisherman’s chief shows photos of broken and broken boats. Samadou Shabata also shows pictures of lifeless bodies lying on the shore. According to him, at least 4 fishermen have been killed by hippos in the last 15 years.
“Hippos attack when we are on the water, they come slowly, they overturn our boats and break them. They happen to confuse them with rocks. Most victims are caught by the ankle and then by the hip with the jaw and sent to the bottom of the water, “testified Samadu Shabata, whose son has been attacked three times. He no longer wants to work as a fisherman, which, moreover, only brings in a very low income.
The patriarch rises. He returns a few minutes later with a thick, curved piece of skin the size of a plate. These are the remains of a hippopotamus that was killed in 2007 by Dozo hunters. The animal caused the death of a 24-year-old fisherman. “We asked the authorities to kill them all, but they did not follow up,” said Samadou Shabata.
Three months ago, Abdouleye Traore also came close to death: one morning a hippopotamus overturned its boat and grabbed it by the head and then by the foot. After this accident, he left two scars on each side of his neck and a mark on the top of his head. “It was a Friday I went fishing. I did not know he was there, the time to catch my canoe came out. Here is my scar. Then he thought I was dead, I managed to travel and God saved me. It’s very scary and it hurts a lot. How should we do it? Ask Abdouleye Traore.
According to researcher and professor of ethology at the University of Cocody, Karim Ouatarra, the increase in conflicts between humans and fauna is explained by the lack of resources and natural areas. Human activity is involved. He believes “conflicts will escalate”, but he condemns any desire to kill hippos, a protected and vulnerable species. A departure from a moral point of view, but also socially and economically. “Slaughtering them is not the solution because hippos are part of the animal cycle. So it does not even help fishermen that hippos disappear,” according to the scientist.
Karim Ouattara instead recommends demarcating large protected areas for these animals and finding means to study the impact of intensive farming on the environment, including intensive banana production in this region.
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