UPDATE: One of the lions roaming near Vryheid has died
The lion was already in a state of decomposition when it had been found and its claws had been removed.
One of the lions that have been roaming near Vryheid for several months has died.
Residents of the Gluckstadt area have reported sightings of two lions on the loose for more than nine months and despite numerous attempts to capture them, the lions have managed to evade both the police and Ezemvelo Wildlife conservationists.
Conflicting reports have been received about how the lion was killed.
ALSO READ: Man mauled by lions on the loose near Vryheid
Station Commander of Gluckstadt SAPS, Captain Karl Erasmus, said the carcass of a male lion was discovered on a farm in Mawana with deeps cuts to the throat and to the stomach.
The lion was already in a state of decomposition when it had been found and its claws had been removed.
“The people in Mawana are now putting out fresh bait to see if they can track the other lion,” said Captain Erasmus.
Ezemvelo spokesperson, Musa Mntambo, said he had heard that the lion had been shot by an employee on the farm on which it was found. However, Captain Erasmus said that the lion’s carcass did not appear to have any bullet holes.
ALSO READ: Hunters in pursuit of lions on the loose near Vryheid
The owner of the farm also denied that the lion had been shot. According to the farmer, the lion had become tangled in the game fence, where it died and its carcass was later discovered by farm workers. The farmer further confided that the community had suffered severe losses in livestock due the lions, which had killed at least 35 head of cattle on his farm alone.
In November last year, a 27-year old man received treatment at Vryheid Hospital after he was mauled by one of the lions in the Mawana area.
