11 Apr 2016

Farmers in the Khawa area say marauding lions are giving them sleepless nights by killing their livestock and threatening their lives.

In an interview, the farmers said  ever since winter started approaching they are witnessing a lot of lions invading in the grazing pastures , leaving behind a trail of destruction as they maul their animals.

“Human-wildlife conflict is rife during this time of the year in the area because of numerous factors among others being that most wild animals seem to have re-located to greener pastures and as a result lions end up wondering in areas they should not be”, said a senior wildlife warden who is also head of animal control unit in Tsabong.

He went on to divulge that the other reason is that the Kalahari Transfrontier park fence which separates wild animals from human habitat is continuously damaged by these predators and they ultimately find themselves in areas they should not be.

Mr Rakose said they are always pleading with farmers that when they spot lions in their area they should always report such incidents so that they can come and try to push them back into the park or capture them and re-locate them to safer places.

He warned that lions are "very dangerous animals" and as a result farmers should desist from trying to kill them as they might end up being attacked by these predators.

When the BOPA crew arrived in the area the lions were reported to have killed at least four horses in two days.

One of the farmers Mr Laone Mosimenyane who was helping wildlife wardens track down problem lions said in recent weeks lions have become a regular feature in their locality and these have left them leaving in fear. Ends