Lion on the loose in North West found and shot by farmer

The lion that escaped while being transported in the North West on Wednesday, has been shot and killed.

Lion found and shot

This was confirmed by the North West Department of Economic Development, Environment, Conservation and Tourism on Friday.

The department said the female lion was found by a farmer in a residential area. The farmer “took a decision to shoot the lioness”, it said.

The lion was found in the Piet Plessis area of the Dr Ruth Mompati District.

Lion escaped

The lioness escaped from its container while being transported on the back of a Ford Ranger bakkie. It was in transit from Leeubosch to Tlakgameng.

The owner of the lion only realised that it had escaped when he arrived in Tlakgameng and saw the big cat was no longer in its enclosure.

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Speaking to The Citizen on Thursday, Jerry Matebes from the Department of Economic Development, Conservation and Tourism in the North West, said two lions were being transported at the time of the escape.

“The owner of the two lions discovered a female lion had escaped as he stopped to check on the animals,” he said.

A rescue mission was launched with a helicopter being used to try locate the lion. Matebes urged the community not to try capture the animal but rather contact the department or the police.

Tigers on the loose

The lion’s escape comes just weeks after tigers were seen roaming the streets of South Africa in two separate incidents.

The first tiger, Sheba, was seen in Walkerville, south of Johannesburg, after escaping its enclosure on a smallholding at Walker Fruit Farm. Sheba was also shot dead when found.

The second tiger was on the loose in Edenvale, east of Johannesburg. It was allegedly captured by private security company SOS SA. The security company, however, refused to share information about the captured big cat, even with the SPCA and the police. The safety and whereabouts of the big cat are still uncertain.

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