Pride of 14 lions on the loose in South Africa have been living near a mine for the past YEAR, it’s revealed as they are pictured for the first time
- Fourteen lions have been spotted living next to a mine in a South African town
- Officials at first believed that the lions were from the Kruger National Park
- However, the park’s general manager says the lions are not from their park
- It is thought the lions have lived next to the mine because there is a lot of prey
By Stefan Boscia For Mailonline
Published: 12:05 EDT, 9 June 2019 | Updated: 13:37 EDT, 9 June 2019
Fourteen lions on the loose near a South African town have not escaped from a nearby national park as originally thought.
The pride of lions had been spotted at a mine near the town of Phalaborwa, near the border of Mozambique, and it was believed they had escaped from Kruger National Park.
However, officials from the park have denied it is a pride of theirs and they are instead thought to have been living adjacent to the mine for about a year.
Photos have emerged of a pride of lions that have been hanging around a mine near the South African town of Phalaborwa
Kruger National Park general manager Marisa Coetzee told local media that the pride may have established itself in that location due to the availability of prey and that they will not be moved to the park.
‘It would be unwise to relocate a lion pride in the territory of an existing pride,’ she said.
‘The disease status of animals is also a consideration when looking at possible release areas.’
Rangers were sent on Friday to recapture the predators, but locals and mine workers have been warned to ‘be alert at all times’.
It is expected they will be captured within the next week.
It was originally thought the 14 lions were from the Kruger National Park, however the park has said they did not
A spokesman for the government of Limpopo province tweeted on Friday: ‘It is suspected that the lions escaped from Kruger National Park.
‘The Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (LEDET) has allocated field rangers to closely monitor the pride’s movement prior action to be taken.
‘Employees at Foskor Mine and members of the public are hereby advised to be alert at all times.’
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