This archive report was first published on 17 July 2019.
Published on July 17, 2019, Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) rangers have captured a male lion from Hellsgate National Park in Naivasha after a one-month search.
The lion is suspected to be part of a pack that escaped from Lake Nakuru National Park a couple of months ago and has been terrorizing residents of nearby villages.
Just a fortnight ago, the lions attacked and killed three herds of cattle in Narasha area and injured six others.
Residents of Eburru, Soysambu, and Moi Ndabi areas have also reported the lions killing tens of livestock, leaving them in fear.
According to Moses Ole Lekopor, a herder, the lions had been spotted loitering near their manyattas, located next to the park, on two different occasions.
“We are happy that KWS has managed to capture one of the lions and we hope that the others will be seized as we are living in fear,” Lekopor said.
Earlier, the rangers had captured two leopards in Maraigushu area of Naivasha and driven them back to the national park.
However, an elder in the village, Joshua Gitau, praised the move but challenged KWS to address the issue of compensation, stating that many families had been affected by the wildlife attacks.
“We have lost tens of livestock to leopards' attack but no single family has been compensated and it's time KWS addressed this,” Gitau said.
