South African National Parks (SANParks) has put down seven lions from the Karoo National Park on the grounds that they posed a threat to livestock and humans. A public outcry may be in the offing, but the incident underscores the challenges of managing populations of dangerous megafauna.
SANParks said in a statement on Friday 2 October that the decision was “not taken in haste.” The park has 14 lions remaining.
The all-female group had escaped the park and killed sheep on a neighbouring farm and was “a threat to human beings,” SANParks said. “The pride had familiarised themselves with a specific area from which they escaped and one of the members of the pride had developed a habit of digging underneath fences.”
“… lions that pose threats to livestock and people have a high level of urgency and are executed after a thorough assessment and observation of the circumstances over time,” the statement said.
The incident has echoes of Sylvester the lion’s escapades.
A Tale of Two Cats, Cecil and Sylvester
Sylvester had two breakouts from the park, the first in 2015 that triggered a madcap 24-day chase and left a trail of dead sheep in its wake….
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Article source: https://allafrica.com/stories/202010051011.html