Lion killed in Matsulu

MBOMBELA-Officials from the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA), had no other option but to kill the lion that escaped from the Kruger National Park yesterday at Matsulu.
According to information from the MTPA, the lion escaped from the park in the early hours of Tuesday. Within a period of less than a day, the lion had already killed three cows in that area.

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Kholofelo Nkambule, the spokesperson for the MTPA said they got a tip off from the community on the lion on the loose and then they attended to it, only to find it had already caused the damage to the livestock.
Nkambule said the reason they killed the lion was because it was now a threat of escaping again. “It was through the advice from our veterinarian that we had to put it down because it had already killed livestock which may cause it to escape again,” she said.

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“We just want to appeal to the community to continue reporting the escape of animals from the Park without attempts of confronting with them as that might be very dangerous to do so. In as much as we value our animals, but also the safety of the people must be always prioritised,” Nkambule added.
In case people come across animals that can be of danger to their lives and to the livestock, they are advised to contact MTPA officials on these contact details: 013 759 530 0 or 083 626 679 2.