TB infected lion gunned down in Kruger
A post-mortem of a lion that was gunned down in the Kruger National park on Thursday, March 12, after forcefully gaining access into the living-quarters, reveals that the lion had multiple illnesses related to tuberculosis and that it was severely hungry as its intestines contained only impala hair and some bones.
A six-year-old male lion with tuberculosis (TB) was shot dead in the Kruger National Park after it entered the residential living quarters of staff members.
SANParks Kruger National Park posted on its twitter page that “early this morning a lion entered the Berg en Dal living quarters”.
READ: BREAKING: Lion allegedly on the loose in the Phalaborwa-area
According to the tweet, a ranger was called to the scene and tried to coax the animal out of the living quarters but all attempts failed.
According to reports, news of the lion came in just before 02:00 and the lion was shot 40 minutes later.
Isaac Phaahla of SANParks said there was not a veterinarian available on site and human lives were at stake hence they had to put the lion down.
“They made attempts to scare it away but failed. The last option was to put it down,” stated Phaahla. “The lion had TB and it had not fed for a while when it entered the quarters,” he told Herald.
READ: HOEDSPRUIT: Villagers rejoice as ‘terror’ lion is shot
One of the residents told Herald that “this happens all the time. When you have been in the park for a while you understand animal behaviour. We knew instantly that there was something wrong because of the way it looked,” stated an employee who did not want to be named.
Animal lovers were up in arms soon after SANParks first tweet.
“This is shameful! It’s a LION, it’s supposed to be in the park. What’s not supposed to be there are humans! Get your act together and stop destroying wildlife. Get it? Wild. Life. You can’t have it both ways, either its a resort or a wild life sanctuary. Disgusting & shameful,” posted Carol Ann Brand.
“How long did he try to coax the lion? Why was it not darted and examined by a vet? How can you possibly justify the “destruction” of a lion for roaming into a camp. How about alerting residents to stay put? Appears to be bad conservation management!” posted AnniliW.
