Fence saves kids from lion

2008-08-23 08:07

Thabisile Khoza

Kaapmuiden - A lion that was seen roaring at the gate of an Mpumalanga primary school during break on Thursday, has been captured and returned to the Kruger National Park.

The lion was seen outside the gates to Siphumelele primary school in Kaapmuiden, near Malalane, sending children screaming into their classrooms.

He was captured on Friday by Mpumalanga Parks and Tourism Agency (MTPA) officials.

"The children heard the lion and first thought it was a cow, but when they realised it was lion, they ran screaming into their classrooms to hide," said Kaapmuiden police spokesperson Constable Ntombikayise Mogale on Friday.

"Luckily the school keeps its gates locked because the children aren't allowed to leave during break," she said.

The school is situated away from the village, near the Kruger Park fence.

The police were called, but the lion had already disappeared into the bush.

Police then alerted the MTPA, which is responsible for any wild animals that escape from the park.

At about 07:00 on Friday, MTPA rangers and the police started a search and found the lion near the Crocodile River.

Ehlanzeni regional director for the education department, Mfana Lushaba, said it was very fortunate that the school was fenced and the gate was locked.

"We would be talking a different story today if the school wasn't fenced," he said.

He said that as a result of the incident, the department would instruct all schools near the Kruger National Park to apply for fencing if they don't have any.

"I don't want to hear that pupils are being eaten by lions because a school was not fenced. The money for fencing is there," he said.

MTPA spokesperson Kholofelo Khwinana was unavailable for comment on Friday.

- African Eye