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“We responded to a distress call and were surprised to see a pride of five lions in a farm at Fochville, busy feeding. We identified a large male and four smaller lions. Tracking them at night was difficult”.
Those were the words of Warrant Officer, Jan Esterhuysen, the Rural Safety Coordinator of Fochville in Western Johannesburg, South Africa.
Reports said the five lions have escaped from an unknown sanctuary in Gauteng Province on Saturday.
According to Esterhuysen, nature conservation and other role players were converging on the area to assess the situation.
Meanwhile, the Vice Chairman of Nigeria Union in the province, Mr. Trust Owoyele, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Johannesburg that the body had received information about the missing lions, warning Nigerians resident in the area to keep safe.
“We have a sizeable Nigerian population in the area. We advise that for now, they should stay away from farms, parks and bush because the predators could be hiding there.
“We also call on our people to be cautious of their movements in the night, especially in lonely areas because the lions have been sighted feeding on a cow in a farm,” he said.
Owoyele said though authorities were working hard to get the lions, it was important that Nigerians in the area adopt safety measures.