South Africa captures 4 of 5 escaped lions

Four out of five lions that escaped
from South Africa’s main national
park this week have been captured, the
South African National Parks
(SANParks) organisation said on
Tuesday.


The animals broke free from Kruger
park on Monday morning close to
Komatipoort, a town of 5,000 people,
prompting a search by armed wildlife
rangers and police who, using
helicopters and tranquilliser guns,
managed to dart and snare four of the
lions.


The area around Kruger – one of the
country’s main tourist attractions –
contains villages and farms that also
raise cattle, putting livestock as well
as people at risk of attack.


In 2015, a lion named Sylvester
crawled under an electric fence at
another park and went on a three-
week, sheep-killing spree before he
was caught by rangers while taking a
nap.

"The search will
continue for the
fifth escaped lion,
with rangers
remaining in the
area overnight.
“Lions are
nocturnal animals
so it will go out to
look for its mates
and that will give
them an
opportunity to
recapture it”, said
SANParks
spokesman Isaac
Phaahla to Reuters".