Karoo lion caught after month on run

Published Jun 30, 2015

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Cape Town - Sylvester the wandering lion of the Karoo has been captured and safely returned home after leading trackers on a wild chase for almost a month.

According to Nico van der Walt, Park Manager at Karoo National Park, the lion was eventually captured late on Monday after the trackers found spoor in an area approximately 20km from the Karoo National Park.

“It appears the young lad had covered over 300km during his journey, and a number of sheep and a kudu were reported to have been killed by the lion since its escape,” Van der Walt said.

“The lion had been located by spotters on Monday above steep cliffs in the Nuweveld Mountains... It was darted by a SANParks vet from a helicopter and brought to safety under extremely difficult conditions. It had to be loaded into a sling underneath the chopper while lying immobilised on the mountain side. This was the most dangerous part of the operation as the helicopter blades were not more than two metres from the mountain edge with the lion lying three metres from a high cliff.”

Van der Walt said the lion has now been released into a boma and has been fitted with a tracking collar. “We are happy to report that it is in good health and it would be put under observation for the time being.”

SANParks, Chief Executive Officer, Fundisile Mketeni congratulated the team for their professionalism in discharging their duties. “This has not been an easy task to perform by any measure – we therefore thank all stakeholders from the neighboring communities and all those that assisted in this operation, including a tracking team that came from as far afield as Botswana to assist in bringing the lion back home.”

Sylvester, as the young male was dubbed, escaped from the Karoo National Park on June 5 after a portion of fence was damaged by a flash flood following heavy rains.

His escape was first noticed when a neighbouring farmer came across his spoor on his farm and alerted park managers.

Neighbouring farmers have racked up losses of 26 sheep as the three-year-old lion tried to hunt for food.

According to reports, farmers near the Karoo National Park fear that the usual rate of theft of their livestock will resume now that Sylvester had been captured. However, National Parks spokesman Rey Thakhuli said he was not aware that farmers in the area had associated the lion’s wanderings with a drop in stock theft.

Commentators on a special Karoo Facebook page also mentioned the issue of stock theft , but most residents were thankful that the lion had been captured alive without threatening the lives of farmers and their families.

Cape Argus and IOL

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