Johannesburg - There could now be some good news for Sylvester the lion and his many fans. Conservationist John Varty of Sabi Sands (Londolozi) and Tiger Canyons had offered to give the roving lion a home.
“If some one can give me the contact number for San parks personel [sic] who are catching sylvester the lion I will take him and give him a home .Tread lightly on the earth,” Varty said in a post on Facebook.
The offer comes after a huge outcry erupted following the announcement by SA National Parks (SANParks) that it would be putting down Sylvester after he once again escaped from the Karoo National Park. Several petitions have been started by animal lovers but, despite this, SANParks was adamant on Wednesday morning that the decision would stand.
Spokeswoman Fayroush Ludick told Independent Media SANParks had been inundated with calls to save him, but the decision would not be changed.
She confirmed that Sylvester still had not been found, but that a team went out on foot at first light on Wednesdat morning to continue the search for him.
Sylvester escaped last year for three weeks and it cost SANparks about R800 000 to search for him. It is believed he escaped under an electric fence because the ground was muddy after heavy rains.
“The lion has been identified as a problem animal and will be euthanised,” SANParks spokeswoman Rey Thakhuli said on Tuesday.
A helicopter was dispatched from Port Elizabeth on Tuesday to assist the 14-man tracker team that has been looking for the three-year old male in the Beaufort West area.
“From the signals emitted by the tracking collar he is wearing, he is about 20km south-west of the park,” Thakhuli said.
Last June, Sylvester went on a sheep-killing spree after he escaped. He was eventually found some 300km away from the park and airlifted from the Nuweveld Mountains.
Eduard Leonard, who started the petition to save the lion, said on Twitter: “Sylvester the Lion has escaped for the second time from the Karoo National Park in South Africa and will be killed when he is recaptured…
“The damage Mr Thakhuli is talking about was that he killed 26 sheep when he went awol last year for three weeks, and also the cost involved for his recapture. I implore SANParks to reconsider the decision to put Sylvester down and rather find him a new home. SANParks’ slogan is ‘Conserving nature since 1926’. To conserve is to protect; is this life not worth protecting?”
Some of the Twitter posts included:
@Scumezza (Anna Sanfilppo): Lions are an endangered species so how can we kill them just because we can? NO.
@ChantelleS04: Rather relocate him! He is a wild animal not a pet, only doing what they should be doing!
The Star