Four lions recaptured after escape from KNP
Four out of the five lions that escaped from the Kruger National Park (KNP) on Monday were recaptured by Tuesday afternoon. Authorities hope the fifth will go back into the KNP to join his 'brothers'.
KOMATIPOORT – Curious bystanders and difficult terrain made it difficult for authorities to recapture a pride of lions that escaped the Kruger National Park (KNP) on Monday morning.
By twilight on Tuesday, four out of the five had been darted, recaptured and returned to an area beyond Crocodile Bridge.
Five lions were first spotted by a resident around 05:00, a few kilometres from the filling station near the Lebombo Border Post.
SANParks spokesman, Mr Rey Thakhuli reported, “The person alerted officials, who went out to chase the lions back into the park. However, it is believed that they had managed to find their way back to the area and had disappeared in the sugar-cane farms about four kilometres away from the Kruger.”
There was so much excitement among visitors and locals hoping to catch a glimpse or take a photo that the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Board (MTPA) and KNP rangers had a hard time tracking down the animals. People were urged to stay away from the area to allow the group to continue their work unhindered.
Watch: Pride of Lions Block Entrance to Tourists’ Toilet
Rumours circulated on social media that the lions had been spotted in town and had attacked someone, but authorities confirmed that no one had been injured and that the animals had stayed away from densely populated areas.
The lions were spotted by community members working at the border post later that night, but they continued to elude the search party. It is suspected that the animals split up and made their way into sugar-cane farms. Thick morning fog also complicated the search operation.
Mr Louw Steyn of the MTPA, who was part of the search, said the lions entered a cattle camp on a 15-hectare farm and caught a cow early on Tuesday morning in the area of the Mananga turn-off.
It is suspected that the group are young, nomadic lions who were pushed out of their prides and went in search of new territory.
Around 11:00 a KNP helicopter with a vet was dispatched to search for the lions from the air and attempt to dart them.
At 13:00 one of the lions had been sedated and loaded onto a vehicle to be taken back into the Kruger and the helicopter had to refuel before resuming the search. Just before 15:00, the second one was caught.
The third and fourth were caught on the same farm as the others in the next two hours before search operations were concluded.
Watch as one of the lions is loaded onto a bakkie:
Video courtesy of Nadia Small.
Steyn says the fifth lion ran across the road and into the sugar-cane plantations, making it nearly impossible to spot from the air. When darkness fell, the group agreed to stop the search and decided not to continue on Wednesday morning, until a sighting was reported.
“The lion didn’t go back to the farm, as the cow carcass had been removed. Our hope is that he will make his way back to the others in the KNP. If not, we’ll mobilise once a sighting has been reported and hopefully be able to recapture him as well,” Steyn said.
SANParks urged residents to report any sightings to the local police station or the KNP on 013-735-4000.
