Watch: Escaped lion spotted on R505 near Makwassie [Video]

Yet another rogue lion has been spotted roaming alongside the highway near Makwassi in the North West province. It’s highly unlikely that it is related to the pride of 14 which escaped from the Kruger National Park and have been seen near Phalaborwa in Limpopo.

Roaming lions

The incident could not have come at a worse time for SANParks. Their resources are already stretched to the limit searching for a pack of 14 lions that escaped from the Kruger National Park.

They were spotted near a mine in Phalaborwa.

“This is a lion. [On the road] between Makwassie and Volmaranstaad,” said Twitter user Yusuf Abramjee in the video.

“It’s standing there, plus or minus 30km from Makwassie… I’m still waiting for people to come and help us.”

#Lion pic.twitter.com/mBMO8EGFEZ

— Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) June 7, 2019

Escaped lions nothing new

While the news of the fugitive lions has spread like wild fire across South African social media, it is apparently nothing new for the residents of Phalaborwa.

SANParks, which is aiding the tracking and recapture effort, revealed that lions have been spotted outside of the Kruger National Park before.

“Any animal that is outside of the Kruger National Park is the responsibility of the provincial authority,” SANParks spokesperson Ike Phaala said.

“LEDET wanted to take the animals back into the Kruger but we said that animals are very territorial – there’s going to be a lot of conflict – they will continue to break out of the park. So, we need a permanent solution.”