Farmers have raised heavyweight objections to a steel barrier erected on the Crocodile River, at the Mpumalanga government’s request, to stop hippos from chomping canoeists.
They say the metre-high steel cable — which will ensure the animals watch the Lowveld Croc canoe marathon from a safe distance — is environmentally unfriendly overkill for a race that happens once a year, and that it was raised without sufficient consultation.
Next year, they warn, they may sabotage the marathon.
The barrier was installed at the Montrose Falls after the race in September, with the aim of barring the animals from a 30km stretch of the river at Schoemanskloof. Terrified contestants were forced to carry their canoes and there were complaints that hippos also wandered on to the nearby N4 toll road, threatening motorists.
Confusion reigns over who is responsible. Trans African Concessions (Trac), the concessionaire of the N4 to Maputo, said it put in the cable at the request of the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Authority and the ”hippo steering committee”, which represents various local interest groups.
The steering committee, which apparently opposes the barrier, said the canoeists requested it, while Giles Mulholland, a board member of the tourism authority, insisted that Trac was the motivator.
Ronnie Trollip, a farmer and steering committee member, said hippos had been migrating up the river because of pressures downstream, creating a problem in Schoemanskloof.
”We’re pretty hot under the collar about it,” said Trollip. Farmers wanted the race, which brought ”good publicity” to the valley, but not at the hippos’ expense. ”We love having the hippos around and the atmosphere they create,” he said.
Farmers say that at their first meeting with the parks board, the biggest ever held in the area, 90% of those present voted to keep the hippos. The encounter was organised by canoeist and event organiser Paul Hay, who was worried about the safety of canoeists. But now many of them are questioning the public participation process.
Farmer Sonia Rossouw, who was nominated to represent the farmers and attend meetings, said many felt their views had been ignored. In the months after the initial pow-wow, a host of meetings had taken place without her knowledge.
”Feelings are running high. Farmers are talking about sabotaging the event next year,” said Rossouw. ”Next year canoeists should not be surprised if they find farmers holding their own tube races in the river, or if they can’t find accommodation. If it was up to the canoeists, they would have got those hippos culled,” she said.
Mulholland insisted there had been an adequate consultation process.
Worse could follow if the barrier fails to keep the hippos at bay. The parks authority said it would have no option but to start culling the animals if they continue to pose a danger. However, it would first examine all options.
Spokesperson Jimmy Masombuka said the authority had to be proactive in raising the barrier. If the problem had been left unattended and someone had been hurt, it would have been blamed. ”Our mandate is to protect nature and keep human life safe from it,” he said. ”Prevention is better than the cure.”