TOGO / A HIPPOPOTAMUS KILLED IN YOTO : MOURNING IN THE TRANSFRONTIER BIOSPHERE RESERVE OF MONO

Twelve (12) Beninese poachers operated on the night of 08 March 2018 in Sendomé County, Yoto Prefecture. They shot a hippopotamus with homemade weapons. Being on the verge of ending their booty immediately, the eco-guards of the Association for the Conservation and Valuation of Mares of Hippopotamus have got their hands on two of these poachers and filed with the Territorial Brigade of Tomety –Kondji.

On the night of Thursday, March 08, 2018, twelve (12) ardently armed gunmen attacked a hippopotamus in the county of Sendomé, the stronghold of these endangered species. Attacked in the area of ​​Atikpatafo, just 500 meters from the swamp Afi, the hippopotamus fought beak and fingernail not to be in the hands of his enemies. The many gunshots to finish totally with the animal, alerted the world of eco guards who got to get their hands on two (2) poachers. Informing of the situation, the first officials of the CSA saw fit to deposit these two men in the hands of the national brigade detachment of the canton of Tométy-Kondji. "It was the shots that alerted us. We informed our eco-guards who were in the field on patrol to go to the place of the group gunshot so as not to be attacked. They were twelve (12) poachers to make the attack, but we only managed to get hold of two (2) only. These two were left to the Tomety-Kondji territorial brigade, "said President Kokouda Kpokpo.

Yoto's gendarmes, curators and foresters have made themselves available alongside the CSA to enforce the law in this poaching case to prosecute the remaining ten (10) poachers on the run.

The world of the environment has lost so a threatened species. This hippopotamus, who fled into Afi's nest in the same night, was found dead in the Lakata area the following day, March 9, 2018, at 14.30 hours by a Togolese hunter from Lakata. The latter has therefore alerted the conservation association. "After we took the poachers to the gendarmerie, we continued our search for the hippo that we thought was just injured. Throughout the night we did not find him. The next day, in the morning, we went to the gendarmerie for the necessary formalities. At around 14:45, we found our dead hippopotamus in the area here in Lakata, "said President Kokouda Kpokpo.

The Mono Transfrontier Biosphere Reserve (RBTM) project, started in 2014, has enabled the restoration of the habitat of the so-called endangered species in the world. In Sendomé, an eco tourism site has been developed for the conservation of hippopotamuses. The site of Afito is in this reserve mono recognized by UNESCO on June 14, 2017 making the project RBTM, a success earlier than expected. The RBTM project, which should officially end in October 2018, was quickly sealed because the first objective is to allow the recognition of this reserve, which lies between Benin and Togo.

It is therefore up to the populations to become their own guardians in order to save these rare species in order to make them sustainable in countries where there are still some who live there despite the poaching here and there.

Remember that this project that leaves soon, will leave the associations mandated bare hands. Because they do not yet have the means to defend rare and endangered species against poachers.

Communication cell of ANEDD