Residents of Kihoto Village in Kabazi Ward of Subukia Constituency are living in fear of attacks by a suspected wild cat that has killed 10 sheep in the area.
The sheep carcasses were found on Sunday morning in the nearby Bahati Forest. The animals belong to two farmers and residents found the carcasses after intensified efforts in search of the sheep.
Jimmy Chege, one of the residents and lost seven out of the ten sheep killed by a suspected leopard.
“We border Bahati Forest and normally we graze our cattle there. When the sheep were taken for grazing on Saturday, they did not come back home in the evening. I called my neighbour who informed me of the same. It's then that we started to search for them,” he narrated.
He said they found the ten carcasses with deep bites on the necks and stomachs, signs that they were killed by a leopard.
The residents buried the carcasses as some of the meat was fed to dogs.
“This is not the first time I have lost my sheep in a similar way. About three months ago, six of my sheep were killed by a leopard and never received any compensation from Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) despite reporting the matter to them,” Chege added.
Another resident, Monicah Wanjeri who is a mother of four, said there have been incidences of leopards invading homes and killing sheep yet KWS officers have not put measures to tame the animal.
“My worst fear is if the said animal attacked our children especially those in secondary school as they go to school in the morning. KWS should hear our cries and take immediate measures to avert disaster,” she said.
There are some unconfirmed reports that a roaming leopard has been spotted severally in Maombi and Mahinga farms during evening hours. Some residents claim that the leopard is hiding at the nearby Jumatatu Hill.
KWS compensates for animals attacked in farms and not those grazing in the wild which is wildlife territory.