Crocodiles kill 175 people in western Mozambique

For the last five years, crocodiles have killed 175 people along the Zambezi River in the Mozambique western province of Tete, wounding another 130, according to local news agency on Tuesday.

The state-owned news agency AIM reported that local government has introduced a few new measures to curb the number of attacks, including the controlled and selective killing of 516 crocodiles and collection of eggs.

The area is heavily infested with crocodiles, and culling is viewed by the local government as critical for the control of crocodile population and prevent further loss of human lives in that province.

Mozambican President, Filipe Nyusi, said during his recent visit to Tete that crocodiles should never be a problem, but rather seen as a source of wealth, since the skin of theses reptiles has a number of useful applications, such as for the manufacturing of belts, bags, among others while its meat is used for human consumption.

"We must take adequate measures to prevent loss of life due to crocodiles attacks," said the President.

The Zambezi is the fourth-longest river in Africa. The river rises in Zambia and flows through Angola, Namibia and Botswana, then along the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe to Mozambique, where it crosses the country to empty into the Indian Ocean.