Guides And Guests Called Into Help snared Male Lion

The Photo in this article have been taken by one of our clients Lauren Mcquillan
while Mark our senior guide was working on the male lion.

Location: Kruger National Park

Road: 1.3kms from junction River rd on S4 (Gravel Road) Time: 11h15

Beautiful 2 male Lion sighting approximately 5 – 7m off the road left hand side. Both having a mid-day snooze, when suddenly I realized that 1 of the male Lions had a snare around the neck. Judging on what I could see, this snare must have been around the neck for approximately 4 days. This snare was not attached to anything and must have broken loose when the Lion was caught in it and therefore was literally a very tight necklace. Although the wire had cut deeply, it didn’t seem to hinder the Lions breathing as he lay there. This obviously needed some intervention from our side, so veterinary was called in. Fortunately while waiting for them (veterinary) to arrive, both males just carried on doing what they do well and that’s sleep.

Once they arrived, the problem male was darted and as soon as it went down we then moved in with caution (other male out there somewhere) to carry it out of the bush onto the road. Extra hands (some of our guests) were called in to assist in moving this heavy beast into a better area. The entire operation took approximately 1hr and in this time valuable information was recorded, blood samples drawn, photo identification and snare was removed, wound disinfected and a couple of stitches administered. Once all completed the Lion was moved off the road into a place where it could recover. Unfortunately at this time we had to leave for camp as other guests needed to be picked up for a late afternoon game drive.

Word got out about the happenings on the road and during the course of the afternoon, the Lion was monitored closely. Feedback from other guides on the sighting saw the two male Lions join up again and move off into the bush at approximately 5pm.

Glad to help you Kitty Cat

Regards

Mark

Senior Guide Nhongo Safaris