NATIONAL NEWS - Several communities adjacent to the Kruger National Park (KNP) are living in fear following reports of four lions roaming around several villages.
According to Lowvelder, two male lions were initially spotted along the tar road between Huntington Village and Elephant Point on Sunday night.
A local man, Reginald Zitha, told Lowvelder that he was one of the people who spotted the lions and even took a photo.
“I was driving along the road at night when I saw the two lions sitting in the middle of the road. I torched them with the vehicle lamps and one of them walked into the bushes. I then took the picture of the remaining one,” said Zitha.
Since then, reports about the lions have continued to spread, with some people saying they spotted them in Belfast, Somerset, Lillydale, Justicia and Malamule villages.
This morning some people reported having seen four lions at Malamule village at about 07:30.
The lions are believed to have come out of the KNP. The Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) said it is doing everything possible to locate them.
“The MTPA is aware about the lions that are outside the park. We have been working with our colleagues from KNP to try and locate the lions. One lion was spotted using our drone this morning. We therefore requested KNP to assist us with a chopper for aerial support to locate the lions,” said MTPA spokesperson Simphiwe Shungube.
“We have a team that is on the ground to ensure that the lions are found. Unfortunately during the day when our team was following the tracks, it rained. But we are committed to working around the clock to ensure that we successfully locate the lions and send them back to the park,” added Shungube.
He advised the community to remain vigilant and not to try to catch the lions themselves, but instead report to the authorities if they see the lions.
“We advise the community to avoid confrontation with the lions. They must report to the authorities,” warned Shungube.
Xibutana Nkuna from Belfast wrote in a local WhatsApp group that he saw lion spoor in his village early today.
The lions are said to have already killed two cows in Huntington.
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