Hunt on for escaped lion

RANGERS and specialised trackers from the Karoo National Park outside Beaufort West in the Western Cape, are still searching for the escaped Karoo lion, said the South African National Parks (SANParks).

The lion is believed to have escaped from the park on February 15 and now has a nine-man team on the ground leading the search for it. By midday yesterday, the team reported that it still had not found any fresh tracks, nor had there been any sightings of the lion.

“The team comprises four trackers and four rangers, led by Karoo National Park’s senior section ranger. They will remain in the area where they suspect the lion to be until nightfall, making full use of the daylight hours available to them,” said SANParks.

Park manager Nico van der Walt said that from the momentary sighting rangers had of the animal last week, they believe the animal to be a two-and-a-half-year-old male. “It’s believed he managed to escape underneath the park’s electrified fencing after heavy rain in the area washed away sediment along the boundary – and before rangers could get to all the areas to attend to these holes in the ground,” Van der Walt said.

Landowners on the farm Highlands, to the north-east of the park, were asked to be on the lookout for the tracks of the escaped Karoo lion on Monday. This came after two search teams lost the lion’s track in the rocky terrain that they were operating in at the weekend.

SANParks on Monday said local Beaufort West residents were fearful since the lion’s escape. Van der Walt reassured residents that the lion was last seen more than 12km from the north-eastern boundary of the park and that this is in the opposite direction of the town’s location to the park. |