Lion on the tear stops bullet

For the past two weeks farmers, nature conservation officials and police in Limpopo have been tracking a pair of lions on an almost 120km trail through the farming areas of Marken, Baltimore and Tolwe.

For one of the lions, a big male, the journey ended near Glen Alpine dam when he was shot from a helicopter on Tuesday.

Tracks and signs of the two lions were first seen on a farm in the Marken area, about halfway between Mokopane and Lephalale. The provincial department of environmental affairs and tourism was notified.

Farmers joined game rangers in the search for the animals, but the lions eluded them with sporadic sightings and signs being reported.

A local newspaper, Northern News, started a Facebook thread on which people reported sightings or signs of the lions.

Rothea Nel, from the Virginia Bushcamp near Baltimore, said they were seen in the area and had killed two cows last week.

Another Baltimore resident, Hestie Grobler, said it was not the first time the lions had visited the area.

"They were here last year. They passed by our house," she said, adding that the lions crossed their land again two weeks ago.

The hunt for the animals started in earnest when they moved to the Glen Alpine area and started preying on the livestock worth in excess of R30 000 of communal farmers on the banks of the Mogalakwena River.

Community leaders called on the Tolwe Farmer's Union for help. One farmer volunteered the use of his helicopter after two donkeys were killed and people living along the river began to fear for their lives.

Provincial conservation office manager Sam Makobene declined to comment on the decision to shoot the animals and referred inquiries to his communications department. It could not be reached yesterday.

Tolwe Farmers' Union chairman Henk van der Walt confirmed the lion was killed by a conservation official. He said it was not the first time lions had visited the area.

"Usually they just pass through. They might take an impala or wildebeest. This time they made the mistake of developing a taste for donkeys and cattle."

"We are now looking for the lioness," Frans Makoena of the Lephalale police said yesterday.

Police suspect the lions crossed into South Africa from Botswana.