First tigers, then lions and, now, three buffalo are on the loose in Kempton Park

Picture: Greenstone Hill Community

Picture: Greenstone Hill Community

Published Mar 10, 2023

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You’d be forgiven for thinking South Africa has been looped into a remake of “Jumanji”. In the past three months, there have been reports of tigers and lions on the loose and, now, officials are on the hunt for three buffalo in Kempton Park.

This week, “Kempton Express” reported that the trio were caught on CCTV cameras, roaming near the R25 between Serengeti and Eastlands.

In a post shared on the Greenstone Hill Community Facebook page, residents were urged to be cautious, especially when travelling at night.

On Thursday, an extensive search operation was under way to track and capture a lion which has been spotted by different people around the R511 road, near the popular Hennops Hiking Trail and areas bordering Gauteng and North West.

Arthur Crewe, on behalf of Strategic Response and Rescue Unit (SRU), said the lion remained on the loose, and there had been no confirmation about where it had escaped.

Last month, a lion was reported missing in the North West.

Provincial police spokesperson Captain Aafjie Botma said the lioness escaped while being transported by its owner. The big cat was in a container on the back of a Ford Ranger bakkie.

In January, a female tiger was shot after she escaped her enclosure at a home in Walkerville, south of Joburg. Following her escape, Sheba attacked a man and several animals.

In a post on social media, the council said that given that she has attacked people and animals over the past few days, it was decided that it was in the interests of people’s safety to shoot Sheba.

There were also reports of a missing tiger in Edenvale but there has been no confirmation on whether the animal has been captured.

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