Trackers continue search for Vryheid lion

EZEMVELO tracking rangers are still searching for a lion on the loose in the Vryheid-Melmoth area as the animal’s latest tracks have led them into difficult terrain.

Residents and visitors in Vryheid have been warned not to walk around at night and to be alone in the bush.

Captain Karl Erasmus from the Gluckstadt police station – between Vryheid and Melmoth – said they believed the same lion had attacked a local man recently.

The attack has sparked fears that the lion may have acquired a taste for humans.

Sabelo Mbense, 27, reportedly escaped by climbing a fence and throwing himself on to the other side.

He received treatment at Vryheid Hospital following the encounter last month in the Gluckstad area, near the Mawana Game Reserve.

It was reported he had puncture marks where the lion’s teeth had penetrated his side, and he was fortunate no flesh had been torn from his body and no major organs pierced.

Erasmus said he believed the lion – or lions – had been on the loose for more than three months as there were reports of cattle being attacked.

He said one of the earlier sightings was about three months ago when a truck driver saw two lions cross the road. He said the latest tracks led rangers up a dry and rocky riverbed where the tracks disappeared.

“The strange thing is no one knows where these lions came from. Who do they belong to? There are a couple of game farms here, but none have lions. A couple of them used to, but they were relocated long ago,” Erasmus said.

He said the closest confirmed lion sanctuary was the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park, which was about 200km away.

Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife spokesperson Musa Mntambo confirmed that tracking teams had gone after the lions and were unable to find them because the tracks were too old.

Mntambo said at this point they were searching for only one lion – that attacked the Mbense. / KAILENE PILLAY