Four of the five escaped Kruger lions captured

Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Pretoria – South African National Parks (SANParks) officials on Tuesday afternoon managed to capture four of the five lions believed to have escaped from the Kruger National Park (KNP) on Monday.

The officials, assisted by members of the South African Police Service (SAPS), successfully darted and returned the four lions back to the park.

A resident reported a sighting of these animals at the N4/Mananga crossing outside the town of Komatipoort on Monday. 

SANParks CEO Fundisile Mketeni has expressed his gratitude to the dedicated SANParks team, along with members of the SA Police Service and the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) for a sterling job, resulting in the successful darting and capture of the four lions.

“We acknowledge that the area presented challenges for the search teams but their persistence and dedication, under those difficult circumstances, has ensured safe return of these animals into the KNP with no injury or loss to human life,” he said.

SANParks reiterated the police call for residents to be extra vigilant and report any sighting of the remaining lion still at large to the authorities on 080010111, 0768019679 or 013 735 0197. – SAnews.gov.za