Residents of Yauri, in Kebbi state are celebrating after an hippopotamus – along with its calf – was killed by rice farmers and fishermen in a hunt lasting several weeks.
People in Yauri have been terrified of the hippo after she killed a fisherman who worked for the local traditional leader.
It prompted the Kebbi state government to order that the animal be killed for the safety of the community living along the River Niger.
Nigeria’s hippo population has declined rapidly over the last few decades – estimates suggest there are now around 100 animals, which mainly live in conservation areas.
The hippo in Yauri was tracked down by young men, who used locally made spears known as a “zagos” to kill it.
Its carcass has since been ferried in a canoe to the palace of one of the Emir of Yauri’s high-ranking administrators, where it has been butchered and its meat given to those in local community.
“We are a town of fishermen and farmers and this hippo has made many to stop going out due to fear of an attack,” resident Sani Yauri told the BBC.
Apart from killing a member of the emir’s staff, it also seriously injured another person – not also forgetting the damage it regularly does to our farmlands.”
There are many paddy fields along the banks of the river near the town, where the hippo had sometimes been spotted.
“We are happy it has been killed and people came out in jubilation – and also got their share of the meat,” Mr Yauri said.
Another resident, Isa Jamilu, said he was relieved that could now go to his farm, which he had abandoned weeks ago.
Photos of the dead animal have been widely shared on social media – with mixed reactions: some hailed members of the local community for standing up for themselves while others expressed concern about the welfare of the animal.
The common hippopotamus is on the red list of threatened species put together by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
