Multiple dangerous animals, including lions, rhinos and elephants, have escaped from a zoo in South Africa.
It is estimated that six lions, four elephants, two white rhinos, a buffalo , a black rhino and a pack of African wild dogs escaped over the course of several weeks from Hluhluwe iMfolozi Park, which is located about 170 miles north of Durban.
A number of cow carcasses have been found by authorities since the leaks were reported. In addition, a 45 year old woman, Zandile Mbhele, was injured by one of the rhinos that escaped to mid-August when it rampaged through their town, damaging the fences of six nearby houses in the process.
It is believed that the park, which has approximately 237,000 acres, is the former royal hunting ground of Shaka Zulu during his reign in the early 19th century. It is home to some 170 lions and has one of the largest populations of endangered white rhinos in the world .
One of the lions was seen on the side of the nearby highway P700, captured in video by a passing driver. Others were seen feeding on the carcasses of cows that had been hit by a train. Here is the video of the fugitive lion:
This is not the first time that animals have escaped from wildlife reserves in South Africa. In 2019, 14 lions escaped from the Kruger National Park.
“Ezemvelo managed to recapture a rhinoceros on Thursday 000 August 2022. The second rhino…had been shot by a member of the community,” Musa Mntambo, a spokesperson for Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, said in a statement.
Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife is a government organization that maintains wildlife conservation areas.
Wild animals, especially lions, that enter human areas can be very dangerous for those close to you.
“Almost any organism around lions could be potential prey, and for people to think they are an exception is crazy,” Luke Dollar, program director for the Big Cats Initiative at National Geographic
The park suspects that the animals must have found a way to escape through the park fence around its perimeter.
“There is an opening in the fence caused by illegal mining of the soil”, says Mntambo. “We suspect the lions managed to escape through a hole in that fence.”
Residents of the Okhukho communities and Nqulwane, terrified of dangerous animals escaping into the wild near their homes, have taken it upon themselves to fix the fence after weeks of waiting for the park to repair the hole.
In addition, locals frustrated with the park protested the leaks in early August by breaking into park staff rooms, stealing various items, and burning down a safe house.
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