No trace of missing lion

The Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) on Wednesday had no leads on the remaining lion who went missing earlier this week.

Spokesperson Kholofelo Nkabinde said rangers were still searching for the predator.

“At this stage it’s still unknown. It might be that it’s gone into hiding or returned to the park‚” said Nkabinde.

“We will continue to update the public on the progress. We urge the public to assist in informing us‚ in case it gets spotted‚” she added.

The lion is one of five which were reported to have escaped from the Kruger National Park on Monday.

The other four were recaptured on Tuesday afternoon after being spotted near the N4 in the Mananga area.

Families scream in horror as circus lion attacks tamer during showA lion locked its jaws around his tamer's throat and dragged him across the circus ring in front of horrified families midway through a live show in Doullens, northern France on Sunday afternoon. 

They were darted with tranquilisers before being captured and returned back to the Kruger National Park.

One of the lions was reported to have attacked cattle near the Komatipoort area.

Meanwhile‚ SA National Parks explained that it was the responsibility of the MTPA to return the lion to the park.

“Once an animal is outside the park‚ it is out of our jurisdiction‚” said spokesperson Raymond Thakhuli.

“An animal that is outside the park becomes the responsibility of the provincial authority and‚ in this case‚ it is the Mpumalanga government. Ours is to provide support if needed‚” said Thakhuli.

Their rangers were on standby to provide any assistance.

It was still unclear how the cats had escaped from the park.