Three lions which escaped from Kruger National Park on Friday were still at large, the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency said yesterday.

Three lions which escaped from Kruger National Park on Friday were still at large, the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency said yesterday.

Spokesman Jimmy Masombuka said four lions escaped from the park through a fence. Residents of Emdlankomo town in the Nelspruit area ultimately alerted authorities about the lions. One lion was, however, found dead. "We started tracking them from Friday night until Saturday morning," he said.

Masombuka said rail authorities notified the agency on Saturday that one of the lions had been knocked over by a train. "We went to investigate and found one lion dead. It was a male lion. We saw the other three running away," he said.

Residents in the area had been warned to lock up their cattle at night as lions usually hunt during the night.

The carcass of a cow has so far been found. Masombuka said the search had proved difficult because the lions were "very clever" and there were many trees in the area. -Sapa