Beware of lion on the loose in Nkhotakota

Government is warning people in Nkhotakota to be careful of a roaming lion that has escaped from Nkhotakota Game Reserve on Saturday, the second of such an incident in the country within a week.

Director of Parks and Wildlife Brighton Kunchedwa confirmed five lions escaped from the game reserve and four have been driven back by park rangers.

This is the second incident in a week after three lions were spotted in Kasungu recently and experts believe the animals have gone back to Zambia where they came from.

“People in Nkhotakota should be careful. They should avoid using shortcuts with grown vegetation,” said Kunchedwa.

He said the lion was spotted near Benga in the district.

“Game rangers are looking for the lion,” he said.

He said it is not easy to control movements of lions, saying with the grown vegetation and maize plants, the lions think they were within their habitat.

“That is the problem when you have a game reserve surrounded by villages,” he said.

Africa Parks, who run the Nkhotakota Game Reserve on concession say they will put up an electric fence to stop animals from getting out as well as prevent poachers.

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