Limpopo residents in fear of escaped lions

March 24 2006 at 08:09PM

Bushbuckridge residents in Limpopo are living in fear after a pride of lions escaped, SABC radio news reported on Friday.

The report said the lions allegedly escaped from a private game reserve last week.

The provincial department of environmental affairs has so far shot dead five of the lions.

It was believed nine lions were running loose in the area.

Calson Magopane, a spokesperson for the Dumphries community, told the SABC that the lions had already devoured cattle belonging to residents.

"The situation is very terrible. The community members are living with fear as these lions are still around."

Officials from the nearby Sabie Sands Game Reserve denied allegations that the lions escaped from their reserve.


They alleged the animals could have escaped from the Kruger National Park. - Sapa

Welcome to Africa.

Its a tuff country.

Gerhard

So what. There are more people than lions. No problem if the lions would eat some of them.

Bushbuckridge has grown like a bad rash over recent years and now covers a massive area...... it's only a few miles from my home now - but fortunately there's a lot of privately owned agricultural land between us and them...... As it's so close though, I'll have to keep an eye out for the Lions here..... a couple of years ago a Bull Elephant got out of the park and walked right across bushbuckridge in one night (how it ever made it across there without being eaten by the locals I'll never know!). It wandered around my area for a week or two before it was shot just up the road (about a kilometer) from my home....

How they can be sure it escaped from Sabi Sands, I don't know. It's a bloody stupid statement to make. Sabi Sands is part of the KNP and there's no fence between the two.