MAUN CROC ATTACK
Mother and daughter mauled by crocodile
Mother, 56, and daughter, 38, are nursing serious injuries at Letsholathebe clinic after being mauled by a crocodile at Thamakalane River in Maun.
The two were harvesting tswii - a potato like vegetable that is collected from deep under the water and considered a staple food for Ngamiland natives - in the river. Collectors are forced to thrust their hands deep into the water and cut the tswii out with a knife. This is what the injured woman and her daughter were doing when they were attacked by a crocodile.
Maun Police Station Commander Orateng Chenamo confirmed the incident saying it occurred on Sunday morning.
“Half of the daughter’s arm has been bitten off
by the crocodile – cut off altogether from the elbow - it has destroyed the lower part from the elbow to the fingers. “The mother’s arm was left hanging by a thread. She was attacked at shoulder level, almost ripping off the entire arm,” Chenamo explained.
The police boss noted that although Tswii is a delicacy that is loved and sustains many livelihoods, collecting it is very dangerous as people are forced to go inside deep waters and
sometimes they step on sleeping crocodiles. Some are also attacked by elephants and hippos. He advised that people should be vigilant at all times especially when collecting tswii at rivers with deep waters. In such instances, the water levels can go up to the waist level, such that harvesters can barely see what could be down there. The crocodiles then feel provoked and angrily attack the intruders.