Why the lions had to be shot

The three remaining lions had to be shot after a farmer in the Crocodile River Conservancy decided to kill one on Wednesday night, Lowvelder reports.

The escaped pride had killed a cow on his property.

Dr Sam Ferreira, large-mammal ecologist of the KNP, explained that since one was also injured, he had to be put down.

“A wounded lion is dangerous,” he said.

Due to the terrain’s dense bush, it proved impossible to dart the healthy ones.

READ MORE:  All missing Kruger lions put down

A veterinarian with a dart gun was in the chopper that went looking for them.

“It was our intention to see if we could catch them, but the bush was too dense. We couldn’t dart them through the branches. So we took the decision to shoot.

“The fact is that you can’t leave only one. They have been together all this time – if you leave one it could take months to find him,” Ferreira said.

Ferreira concluded by saying that while the farmer acted within the law to protect his property, he should have phoned the MTPA sooner.

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– Caxton News Service