Africa Wild

Kenya: another fatal encounter with a lion


ESCAPED LION EATS MAN OUTSIDE SAFARI PARK, REMAINS ON THE LOOSE

BY JASON MURDOCK ON 12/10/19 AT 4:55 AM EST

Wildlife officials in Kenya's capital city of Nairobi are searching for a stray lion that reportedly mauled a man to death in recent days outside a national park.

With the predator on the loose, the Kenya Wildlife Service has urged residents to avoid walking at night until it is captured, Kenyans.co.ke reported. The remains of the victim, named Rono Kipkirui Simion, were found Monday near Ongata Rongai, according to Daily Nation.

The victim's head and arm were found by an unnamed passerby, while a lion had also been spotted in the nearby area, local media reported.

In a statement on Monday, the Kenya Wildlife Service said: "KWS is saddened by the tragic death of a gentleman who was killed by a lion on the southern periphery outside Nairobi National Park.

"Our team of rangers including a vet are searching for the lion to locate, dart and remove it from there. We are reaching out to the family of the deceased with a view to visiting and consoling with them. KWS urges members of the public to stay calm and not to venture out at night."

Nairobi National Park is located roughly four miles from the city center and is home to a variety of animals, including large predators such as lions, leopards, hyena and cheetah. It's known for wide open grass plains set to a backdrop of skyscrapers, according to the park website.

It is currently believed the victim encountered the lion while walking home after meeting friends on Friday evening, sometime after 10 p.m. He failed to return to work on Sunday.

The victim was described as "middle-aged" by Daily Nation.The man's ID, seen in a KTN News video segment, showed him to be 40 years old and from the town of Narok.

The park uses electric fencing in an attempt to keep animals inside but it is not completely sealed, the Daily Monitor reported, citing Agence France-Presse (AFP). The outlet reported there were several lion escapes throughout 2016, with some venturing into local towns.

They must move Nairobi further away from the Park

It is a bit of a conundrum...

https://zululandobserver.co.za/207105/f ... s-manguzi/


Free-roaming elephants cause problems in Manguzi
One resident, Muzuwenkosi Dlamini (45), said the main problem is that no one is safe as the elephants move among their homesteads and the community feels unsafe
4 hours ago


Free-roaming elephants are causing problems for the Manguzi community



RESIDENTS of the eMfihlweni area under the Tembe Tribal Authority in Manguzi, say they live in fear as scores of elephants are seen roaming freely in the area.

The residents claim the elephants have caused massive damage to their crops.

One resident, Muzuwenkosi Dlamini (45), said the main problem is that no one is safe as the elephants move among their homesteads and the community feels unsafe.

‘We have reported the matter to the iZinduna, but nothing is being done. This problem is not new; it began a long time ago,’ Dlamini said.

Inkosi Mabhudu Tembe said the issue arose five years ago, and he believes that the elephants come from Mozambique and cross the border.

‘They are obviously in search of food. I also believe that when they cross the border they pick up the scent of elephants in the nearby game reserve (Tembe Elephant Park) and their movements result in the community’s crops being destroyed.

‘We have urged residents not to interfere with them because they are very dangerous.

‘We have been lucky so far that no one has been attacked. KZN Ezemvelo Wildlife has put down about 13 of them, but the problem still persists,’ Tembe said.

Ezemvelo spokesperson, Musa Mntambo, said they were not aware of the problems caused by ‘stray’ elephants from Mozambique.

‘It is true that such incidents occurred in the past where elephants from Mozambique have been found within our borders.

‘We attended to those complaints and solved them. We urged the community to inform us when they again see such elephants in their area,’ Mntambo said.

If one is deaf and the other mute, there cannot be much comprehention between them

https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south- ... thern-kzn/

Large mystery lion on the loose in northern KZN
04 February 2020 - 12:54
BY ORRIN SINGH


An escaped large lion was captured on camera just outside Dundee in northern KwaZulu-Natal
Image: Supplied
The hunt is on for a large lion which is believed to have escaped from a game reserve near Dundee in northern KwaZulu-Natal.

According to a local involved in the search for the apex predator, the male big cat is believed to have killed a cow on Sunday and tried to kill another one on Monday.

A camera placed near where the lion was last seen captured the large male during the night.

Ezemvelo KZN spokesperson Musa Mntambo said they were aware of reports and were investigating. Members of Nambiti Private Game Reserve joined the search for the animal on Tuesday and in an e-mailed response to TimesLIVE said all their lions were accounted for.

"We were sent a picture of a large male that is apparently at large outside Dundee. All of Nambiti’s big males are accounted for. We have offered to assist though, and some of our people will help to track and capture the lion," the statement read.

In November Times Select reported that the community of Ngolotshe lived in fear following a number of encounters with lions which had escaped from the neighbouring Hluhluwe iMfolozi Park.

Lion on loose kills calf near Dundee
2020-02-05 10:40
Nompilo Kunene

The hunt is on for a male lion that was spotted on a farm along the Nquthu road, a few kilometres outside Dundee.

The owner of the farm where the lion was spotted told The Witness on Tuesday that the predator killed one of her calves on Saturday. It returned on Sunday night to feed on the calf’s carcass and on Monday night attempted to kill another calf.

The farmer, who asked not to be named, told The Witness that some of the neighbouring farmers had placed a motion-sensitive camera near where the lion was last seen on her property and managed to capture a picture of the large cat during the night.

The farmer said it was still a mystery where the lion may have escaped from, as there were no game reserves close to her farm except for Nambiti Private Game Reserve.

“We did contact Nambiti Private Game Reserve to ask if it was their lion, but they said all their lions had collars and had been accounted for,” she said.

Herman de Wet, chairperson of the Dundee and District Farmers’ Union, said search teams were out looking for the lion and there were plans to get a helicopter to help with the search.

He said the plan was not to kill the lion, but to sedate it and relocate it to a protected area.

In November 2018, The Witness reported about a Vryheid man, Sabelo Mbense, who was lucky to survive a lion attack in the farming village of Gluckstadt.

Mbense escaped with bruises under his right armpit.

That lion was never captured.


Ezemvelo KZN spokesperson Musa Mntambo said they were aware of reports and were investigating the matter. He said they were also searching for the lion with help from local farmers. Mntambo added that in the past couple of years, there had been reports of two lions roaming around Vryheid.

He said one of the lions was killed by the public, but ithe other was never captured.

He said the lion on the loose at Dundee might be the same animal.



https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News ... e-20200204