Elmon Tshikhudo
For three weeks, local chicken farmers around the villages of Tsianda and Mutsha outside Louis Trichardt in Limpopo have not known peace.
Their chickens and other livestock are being terrorised by an unknown creature. The mysterious and vicious animal kills them, but inexplicably does not eat the meat.
Well-known animal expert Sydney Mikosi said there are many animals that could eat chickens but he has not heard of those that do not eat the animals.
The animal is said to have killed hundreds of chickens, as well as a handful of pigs, throwing farmers’ livelihoods into disarray.
On a bad night farmers can lose as many as fifty chickens.
Most curiously of all, the frightening animal is yet to be seen clearly by any of the villagers. Some claim to have caught brief glimpses of the animal, but there is no consensus on what it is or looks like.
Ndivhaleni Mulaudzi of the Muungamunwe Business Forum said many businesses have incurred significant losses, while some have been destroyed completely.
“The situation is bad. We don’t know what to do,” he said.
“Our people have lost a lot and we have not found a way to catch the creature.”
He said it is also a major worry that the creature is not only harming chickens but is also preying upon pigs and dogs.
Mukatshelwa Mahosi, who has lost 20 chickens, said she heard noises in her chicken coop and decided to check what was happening.
“To my shock something that looked like a cat with black and white dots ran out. On closer inspection I found my chickens laying dead although the flesh had not been eaten,” she said.
She said they are hoping that their traditional leader will allow them to seek traditional healing to get rid of the creature.
