Lion shot in KZN after three-month chase

The rogue male lion that led hunters on a merry three-month chase has been shot dead.

Dundee SAPS spokesperson Captain Mbense told the Courier the lion was shot dead by a farmer on a Cotswold farm on the Dundee Vryheid road, reports Northen Natal Courier.

The lion had left behind evidence of its kills on farms in the area since he was first spotted by a surveillance camera on a farm on the Nquthu road in February. He targeted mainly calves.

His latest kill was last weekend when the remains of a calf were found on a farm outside Dundee.

Captain Mbense said details of how the lion was spotted and shot were still being gathered.

The shooting of the lion has elicited a wave of dismay on the Courier’s Facebook page with many asking why hunters could not simply dart the lion and relocate the animal to a park.

However, professional hunters who spoke to the Courier said to relocate a rogue male lion would have been “incredibly difficult and would have condemned the lion to a whole lot of fresh trouble”.