MBOMBELA – The farmer on whose property the escaped lions from the Kruger National Park (KNP) was killed last week, said they did not act maliciously.

Barend Janse van Rensburg told Lowvelder that his brother, Isak shot and killed the one and injured another of the young males that escaped from the KNP last weekend.

The lions were discovered on Barend’s farm in the Crocodile River Conservancy on Wednesday. At first, four were reportedly sighted, but it was later confirmed that there had been only three.
He explained that an employee came to call him Wednesday afternoon. He had spotted two lions feeding on a cow.

He said he was surprised, as earlier that day the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) told him the lions were some distance from his farm, with a fence between them. Suddenly, they were a kilometre from his house.

“We went to go see if we could shoot them,” Barend said.

They found two, and Isak shot one dead. The other one fled. They didn’t have cellphone reception and, therefore, couldn’t call the MTPA, Barend explained.

Early on Thursday morning, they went to look for them again. They found two who had eaten more of the carcass and moved it. Isak only managed to wound the one, and the brothers called the MTPA.

They said they went up in a chopper to put down the wounded one, and to try and dart the rest. It proved impossible and the entire pride was eliminated.

Veterinary surgeon Dr Ferreira du Plessis said That lions that catch cattle can be rehabilitated. “It depends on the situation.”

He said it was not really the taste of the meat lions liked, but the comfort such an area represented in that it offered easy meals and no other lions or predators competing with them.

They were definitely not the same five which escaped in May. Four of them were darted and microcipped and returned to the park. It is believed the fifth one found his way back by himself.

According to Du Plessis, the carcases were removed and used for disease research.

“We don’t expect more to escape,” he said. “It does not happen often.”

He concluded that the farmer acted within the law to protect his property, but he should have phoned the MTPA sooner.

Barend said there wasn’t time to wait for them. “We had to act fast as the next day they would have been in a different location. They had already caused me damage.”

He said two cows and three calves were affected. “We shot them for our own safety, and that of my workers who live nearby. Everybody was exposed.”

‘Why we had to shoot the lions’, July 14, 10:23

MBOMBELA – The three remaining lions had to be shot, after a farmer in the Crocodile River Conservancy decided to kill one on Wednesday night.

The escaped pride had killed a cow on his property.

Veterinary surgeon Dr Ferreira du Plessis* explained to Lowvelder that since one was also injured, he had to be put down.

“A wounded lion is dangerous,” he said.

Due to the terrain’s dense bush, it proved impossible to dart the healthy ones.

A veterinarian with a dart gun was in the chopper that went looking for them. “It was our intention to see if we could catch them, but the bush was too dense,” Ferreira said.

“We couldn’t dart them through the branches. So we took the decision to shoot.

“The fact is that you can’t leave only one. They have been together all this time – if you leave one it could take months to find him,” he added.

Ferreira concluded by saying that, while the farmer acted within the law to protect his property, he should have phoned the MTPA sooner.

Escaped lions from KNP shot dead – July 13, 15:33

MBOMBELA – A farm owner in the Mara Valley shot one of the lions last night, and wounded another after they killed one of his cattle, the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) said in a joint statement with SANParks this afternoon.

Officials using a chopper, found the remaining three lions close to the carcass of the cow.

The teams said it was operating in a difficult and extremely challenging terrain which made darting a difficult option.

“We have a dedicated and experienced team on site that has been working tirelessly to locate and capture these lions,” said Abe Sibiya, head of biodiversity at the MTPA.

“Unfortunately after all efforts were made and the risk of having a wounded lion roaming around, a decision had to be taken to destroy them.”

Sibiya thanked SANParks, farm owners and the surrounding community for its support and alerts in finding the animals.

No sign of four lions on a walkabout – July 11, 14:30

The four male lions that escaped from the Kruger National Park (KNP) have not been spotted since Monday morning.

Pictures of an alleged sighting at a Kaapmuiden factory this morning, proved to be a hoax.

William Mabasa, spokesman for SANParks, confirmed today that the lions were first spotted around Matsulu on Sunday, but were last seen yesterday south of the N4.

The Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) is currently searching the Crocodile River Conservancy area for the four.

SANParks said the air wing was on standby to assist, but a chopper would only be used in exceptional circumstances.

The use thereof, in this case, was not a priority due to the density of the bush in the area. SANParks explained during a teleconference this afternoon that extremely rocky terrain gave the lions additional hiding places, which would make spotting them from the air extremely difficult.

The MTPA’s capture team, together with veterinarians, were leading the search.

It added that it was unlikely that the four were the same ones that escaped from the park in May as they were seen a long distance from where those were released back into the park after their capture.

They also had micro-chips inserted, but it would not possible to confirm whether they were the same until these lions have been captured too.

Escaped lions search continues – July 11, 07:30

SANParks together with Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) officials made every effort yesterday and overnight to lure and catch the four lions that were first sighted wandering near the N4/Crocodile River gorge area.

“Since the first light all efforts are, and will continue to be made by MTPA officials, with the support of SANParks to locate either the lions themselves, or any recent sign of their presence so that a joint operation to capture them can be launched,” stated SANParks general manager – veterinary wildlife services, Dr Markus Hofmeyr.

Hofmeyr indicated that the lions are currently believed to be in very rocky, mountainous and thickly wooded, uninhabited areas south of the Crocodile Gorge, and the MTPA has very experienced staff dealing with the situation. Together with SANParks every effort will be made to locate and capture them.  “SANParks is working very closely with MTPA officials to secure the capture of the lions and our rangers, air wing and veterinarians are on immediate standby to provide any further support required by the agency to capture the lions.”

It is important to note that the lion population has grown exponentially and is an attributing factor to young males looking for own new territories within the Kruger National Park.  This is as a result of naturally occurring factors like drought which we have seen in the last two years, allowing for an abundance of animals for predators like lions to feed on, and an increase in their population.  The fence is surrounding the park and is largely a disease-control intervention managed by the National Department of Agriculture and serves primarily to keep wild animals from getting into contact with livestock.  It is unlikely that the four lions that have been spotted in the Matsulu area are the same as those that escaped two months ago in the Komatipoort area.

These animals should be treated as dangerous and should not be approached or interfered with in any way or for any reason. Should anyone see the lions or any sign of their presence, they should immediately make contact with MTPA officials on 083-626-6792, SANParks on 076-801-9679 or 013-735-0197/4064 or SAPS on 0800-10111.

–By Jonothan Hen-Boisen

July 10, 2017: Search in full swing for four escaped lions

The Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) is currently conducting an extensive search operation to find the lions that were spotted in the early hours of today in the Boulders area in the Mara Valley, south of the N4.

“We are working together with Kruger National Park and the SAPS in this search operation. There has been no sighting of the missing lions since they were last spotted in the morning. We will continue with this search and use all the necessary resources at our disposal to locate them,” said Johannes Nobunga, chief executive officer of MTPA.

READ MORE:“We urge the communities to be alert and inform us of any sightings. The terrain in which the search is being conducted poses some challenges for the team, however, we will continue to work with farm owners and the community in the area to provide us with any information that will assist us with this operation,” added Nobunga.

Communities are encouraged to be vigilant and to contact the MTPA on possible sightings on 083-626-6792.

– By Jonothan Hen-Boisen

READ MORE:

• Dr Sam Ferreira, large-mammal ecologist of the KNP, was initially quoted. Lowvelder regrets the error.