Alligator attacks on men in the province of Cuando Cubango killed nine people, from the beginning of the year until last week, in that part of the country. Negligence on the part of the population is identified as the main cause for the occurrence of these events, which tend to increase in the locality.
The information was provided to the newspaper OPAÍS by the head of the Institutional Communication and Press Office of the Civil Protection and Fire Service (SPCB), in that province, when he was referring to two new incidents of conflict between man and animal that occurred in his region.
The third deputy fire chief, Albano Cutarica, highlighted that, this year, a total of 13 situations of attacks by this type of animal once morest humans were observed, of which nine ended in death. “The conflict between man and animal has already killed nine people in 13 cases registered in 2024”, he informed, pointing to the negligence of the people as the main cause for the incidents.
For the SPCB-Cuando Cubango spokesperson, citizens who reside in riverside areas insist on the practice of bathing and carrying out domestic activities in prohibited areas instead of deciding on areas prepared with metal fences and other instruments that prevent any direct contact between the man and the animal. Furthermore, he also complained that many ignore the authorities’ warnings and go to the river using precarious boats with which they intend to carry out their work activities, without, however, noticing the risks associated with the practice.
Latest recorded cases The head of the Institutional Communication and Press Office of the body assigned to the Ministry of the Interior (MININT) said that, at this time, several shipwreck specialists belonging to the Mavinga Municipal Command are intensifying searches with the aim of locating and handing over to family the remains of a citizen who was the victim of an alligator attack. According to Albano Cutarica, the municipality’s operatives, by the end of last week, had already completed three days of searches to determine the location of the remains of the 41-year-old citizen, who was attacked by the animal in the waters of the Lomba River.
The head of SPCB-Cuando Cubango, who cites witnesses, said that the incident occurred regarding two weeks ago, when the victim, aboard a homemade canoe, intended to cross the Lomba River and was surprised by the reptile that attacked and dragged him to the depths of those waters. Meanwhile, in Cuchi, the SPCB team successfully completed the work to locate and rescue the remains of another citizen who died from the same causes. “The uninterrupted searches that began last Sunday ended with the location and consequent recovery of the remains of the body of a 30-year-old citizen, who died yesterday, around 3pm, at the Cuchi headquarters”, he added.
Albano Cutarica said that the leg and head of the citizen who, in life, was known as “Pedra Guerra” were found floating in a point where reptiles are very common, 300 meters from the place of occurrence, where, despite being an area prohibited from bathing, if he was bathing. For this reason, the head of the Institutional Communication and Press Office of the Civil Protection and Fire Service, deputy fire chief Albano Cutarica, advised people to always opt for signposted areas duly prepared for bathing and carrying out activities. domestic activities, in order to avoid the registration of new cases of this nature.
