Panic As Lions Go on the Loose After Escaping from National Park

 

 

Wildlife rangers on Friday began hunt for two lions who escaped from Nairobi’s national park and meandered into “highly populated” areas of the Kenyan capital.

 

AFP reports that the Kenya Wildlife Service issued an appeal, “for help to get two lionesses that strayed from the Nairobi National Park.”

 

Armed rangers, as well as KWS vets with dart guns, scoured bush and agricultural land alongside the Kibera district, one of Africa’s largest slums.

 

“Lions are dangerous wild animals. Avoid provoking the lions by confronting them,” said KWS spokesman Paul Udoto.

 

At least two lionesses are reported to have late Thursday left the park, spread over 117 square kilometres (45 square miles) where buffalo and rhino roam just seven kilometres from the bustling high-rise city centre.

 

Local media reported as many as six lions might be on the loose.

 

It is not the first time lions have prowled into town. The big cats are under growing pressure as one of Africa’s fastest growing cities creeps onto ancient migration routes and hunting grounds.