Patience Makwele
Livestock farmers in Zambezi region’s Judea Lyaboloma have raised concerns over mounting livestock losses to lions and hyenas, saying repeated predator attacks are threatening their livelihoods and leaving them increasingly worried about their own safety.
A 76-year-old farmer, Brendan Miliko, told the Windhoek Observer that the losses are becoming an annual reality.
Miliko says he has already lost three cattle to wild animals since the beginning of the year, including a pregnant cow, leaving his herd with fewer than 30 cattle.
“We are losing livestock. I’m not the only one who has lost livestock and the bad thing is the ministry of environment is not doing anything about this,” Miliko said.
His concerns come as the ministry of environment, forestry and tourism says it has recorded about six cases of lions attacking cattle in Makanga village over the past month.
The latest reported victim, Booysen Sishekano, lost three cattle to lions last Friday, an estimated loss of N$30 000.
Makanga Village is situated about 64 kilometres southwest of Katima Mulilo and close to the Mudumu National Park boundary.
Regional environment and tourism control warden Leeverty Muyoba has urged farmers in the area to avoid taking their livestock towards the park boundary, saying most incidents occur when cattle graze close to the protected area.
Muyoba said some cattle posts in Makanga are less than two kilometres from the national park and encouraged farmers to take their livestock to the eastern side of the cattle posts instead.
However, Miliko says the advice does not reflect the realities facing farmers.
He said cattle are sometimes forced to travel about nine kilometres from villages to reach water points as nearby water sources are drying out, making it difficult for farmers to control where their animals graze.
He also stressed that some attacks occur during the night when livestocks are locked in kraals which are located in the villages and that predators have entered cattle kraals.
“They cannot tell us that we should monitor which side the cattle feed or which side the animals graze,” Miliko said.
“Some of them are attacked right inside our kraals.”
According to Miliko, that is what makes the situation more than a livestock problem.
He fears that if predators can enter a kraal and kill cattle, people and children could eventually be at risk.
“It is not just posing a threat to the animals that we are losing, but it is also posing a threat to us,” he said.
The attacks are also taking away more than the immediate value of an animal, according to Miliko.
He said cattle provide milk and calves and can be sold when families need money for major expenses such as school and university fees.
“When our cows grow and give birth, when school registrations come, our kids go to university, we help them using the same animals. There are times when we face serious issues such as sickness in the family and the only way to afford medical expenses is by selling the same livestock which lions and hyenas are attacking,” he stressed.
“But now when animals are attacked, our children are left with nothing.”
He called for the government to introduce or strengthen compensation for farmers whose livestock are killed by wildlife, saying farmers should not be left to absorb the full cost of living alongside protected wildlife.
He also questioned what happens when farmers defend their livestock against predators.
“If a lion comes into my kraal now and I kill it, I’m going to be arrested for defending my cows. The same animal attacks my only source of livelihood, the same government does nothing,” he said.
“But when we go to the same government to tell them that we need compensation for our animals which are being attacked, we are not getting anything out of it.”
His concerns come against a wider pattern of human-wildlife conflict in Zambezi region.
Between January and April this year, authorities recorded 132 livestock attacks in the region, with lions, leopards and spotted hyenas being responsible for most of the reported attacks.
Zambezi recorded 180 livestock losses to wildlife in 2019/20, according to ministry figures, highlighting that livestock predation has remained a longstanding challenge for communities living alongside wildlife.
Judea Lyaboloma has also experienced repeated lion incidents. In 2025, residents of Ngonga reported lions roaming around the village and killing livestock.
In a separate incident, four cattle were reportedly killed by six translocated white lions at Ngonga.
For farmers such as Miliko, however, the debate over conservation and wildlife management comes down to a much more immediate question about how long they can continue replacing livestock lost to predators.
With his herd already being reduced to fewer than 30 cattle, Miliko says every further loss threatens not only his livelihood but the future security his livestock provides for his family.
“We need the government to make sure that they find a solution to this,” he said.
