People are urged to be cautious in Marloth Park

MARLOTH PARK - Visitors and residents have been urged to be wary of animals, after a three-year-old was being kicked by a zebra on Saturday night.

Four lions were spotted wandering through Marloth Park on Monday.

Field Security and Nadine Edgecombe of the community policing forum posted warnings on Facebook following the kicking incident, urging people not to approach animals.

According to Edgecombe, the child approached the zebra, which had been wandering close to where the family were staying and was kicked. Field Security’s medical team was summoned and the toddler was taken to hospital for a thorough check-up, but was luckily given the all-clear.

Edgecombe said she has witnessed people getting out of their cars and approaching animals to take a closer look or get the perfect photo, only to startle the animals and cause them to lash out.

“Even if animals approach you, they are still wild and can seriously injure you. Parents should not allow their children to approach the animals under any circumstances,” she warned. Deidre Joubert of Wild and Free Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre also recently cautioned people against feeding animals, as this causes them to become dependent on humans. She stated that these animals would lose their instinctive fear of people and start causing damage to houses to find their food or wander into roads and get hit by vehicles.

Guests and residents are also cautioned against going walking or jogging in the evenings. Predators slip through the Kruger National Park (KNP) fence from time to time and can pose a danger to people walking through the bush at night.

The lions were spotted wandering through Marloth Park on Monday, first near Gate 1 and then they moved around the area. Rangers tried tracking them on Tuesday, but at the time of going to press, they had not been found.

Kholofelo Nkambule of the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) confirmed that a pack of 12 wild dogs were seen close to the Komati Sugar Mill on Monday morning. MTPA staff were dispatched but did not find them.

The MTPA keeps a close eye on Nkomazi, as predators regularly slip out of the KNP and other local reserves. Lions and elephants are mostly spotted in the Malalane and Strydomblok areas, as well as close to the Kruger and bordering the Crocodile River in the Marloth Park and Komatipoort areas.

Sightings are investigated and the animals tracked and if they pose a serious danger, the MTPA, KNP and authorities work together to ensure the safety of the animals and community.

Sightings of dangerous animals can be reported to the MTPA on 013-7595300/01 or the local police station, which assists them.