Elusive lion caught and spends the night in jail

The lion that escaped from the Karoo National Park near Beaufort West a month ago, spent Wednesday night in a police holding cell after it was captured in Sutherland in the Northern Cape.

The lion was darted from a helicopter and taken to the local police station.

On Thursday it is expected to be transported back to the Karoo National Park.

South African National Parks [SanParks] general manager for media, PR and stakeholder relations, Reynold Thakhuli, said the search team are awaiting a crate from Addo, in which the lion will be transported in.

The lion’s last confirmed spoor was spotted by the team of rangers and trackers on Monday, about 42km north east of the town of Sutherland.

Thakhuli said it was also where they had received reports of four sheep and two goats that were killed on a farm in the vicinity.

The lion escaped on February 15 after he reportedly managed to crawl underneath the park’s electric fence.

This, as a result of heavy rain in the area washed away sediment along the boundary.