Rangers catch and put down killer lions
2013-03-08 21:49
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Harare - Wildlife rangers in Zimbabwe said on Friday
three lions that killed two people near a suburb in the northern resort town of
Kariba have been caught and put down.
The state wildlife department said a lioness and two
"sub-adult" cubs between 2 and 3 years old were baited into traps and
given lethal injections using darts late on Thursday.
Sub-adults are about three-fourths of the size of the
mother.
Rangers said the mother was lame from an injured leg that
was badly swollen and was scarred from wresting itself free from an illegal
wire animal trap set by poachers to catch smaller animals. The wounds accounted
for the pride roaming close to Kariba's Mahombekombe township suburb, they
said.
The lions devoured the body of one man on Tuesday and
killed a woman nearby whose male companion escaped unhurt.
On Wednesday, rangers put the town on the shores of Lake
Kariba, a man-made hydroelectric dam popular for fishing and tourism, on a full
rogue lion alert.
A zebra, among lions' usual prey, was shot as bait for
the animals.
Police in Kariba said on Friday a ranger laying the bait
was accidently shot in the leg when colleagues opened fire on lions seen
stalking toward him.
The wildlife department had warned townspeople against
walking at night and crossing through thickets of bush where lions conceal
themselves. It urged people in the area only to use wide and established roads.
Warning fliers distributed since on Wednesday also warned
"beer drinkers to avoid moving at night on foot”.
With the recent growth of outdoor Christian groups and
religious and other tribal sects, the fliers advised their followers to
"stop going for secretive prayers in thick vegetation" in and around
the town.
One of the lions' victims on Tuesday was a 70-year-old
man headed for a bar on the outskirts of the township, and the dead woman had
surreptitiously gone into the bush with a lover, neighbours said.
Lion attacks are not common close to urban settlements.
In the past, elephants have roamed into Kariba's suburbs,
causing several deaths in recent years. Victims were often heading home from
late night taverns and bars.
- AP
