Written by Leonard Wamalwa 2012-05-20 13:57:00 Read 571 Times

Owner of the killed sheep Mr. Alfred Simiyu Buserera speaking to our reporter in Kipsongo. [PHOTO|Leonard Wamalwa|West Fm]

Tension has gripped residents of Kipsongo area within Kitale town after an unknown wild animal appeared and killed three sheep and injured several others Saturday evening.

According to the owner of the sheep Alfred Simiyu Buserera, he had tied his livestock in a field next to Kitale Technical Training Institute where the sheep were attacked by the animal at around 3pm after the rains stopped.

"I saw a number of my sheep come running from the field shortly after the rains stopped and thus I went there to check on the others only to find a white-mouthed animal with a white tail had killed three of them and injured two others was disappearing to the nearby forest," Buserera said.

He said that the animal that was the first to strike in the area for a long time is dangerous and might pose more danger to other livestock and people living in the area especially children who use that route to go to school.

He said he has incurred a loss of over Kshs 20,000 following the loss of his three big sheep (carcasses pictured left) and thus called upon the local Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) officers to move in and compensate him.

At the same time the residents led by a civic leader John Tenge have called upon KWS officers to intervene immediately by searching for the animal on the loose so that it does not cause more harm and damages.

"We want KWS people to guard the wildlife by restricting them inside their designated areas so that they do not stray and cause damage and harm to the people in the neighborhood the way we have witnessed today," councilor Tenge said.

The area of the incident is surrounded by several forests including Kitale Museum forest, Kitale Club forest and Kenya Agricultural Research forest hence making the residents not to know exactly where the striking animal might have come from.

Western Conservation area offices are also situated less than a kilometer from the scene of the incident hence their officers are expected to respond to the call with immediacy to recover their animal.

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