Stray lions kill two more cattle

Two more cattle have been killed by lions on a private farm near Etosha National Park.

The animals were killed on the farm belonging to northern businessman Mburru Ismael last week, bringing the total number of cows killed by escaped lions to 24.

Nature conservation officials visited the farm recently but left without any solution.

According to the farm manager, the environment officials were “afraid to offend” the lioness and its cubs, which had been living on the farm since February this year.

The lioness entered the farm in January and gave birth to four cubs, said farm manager Eino Ashipala.

“These lions are still on the farm. After your newspaper published a story about them, environment ministry officials came to visit our farm, but they told us that a lioness with cubs is very dangerous. They said they cannot do anything and they advised us not to do anything to them,” Ashipala said.

A total of six lions, which escaped from Etosha, were recently killed by northern farmers after attacking livestock in the Ongandjera grazing area.

Ashipala said even before the story was published they reported the lions to nature conservation officials patrolling the Etosha border fence, but they never visited the farm.





Environment deputy minister Tommy Nambahu's recent fact-finding mission to Etosha could also not yield any solution to the potential human-wildlife conflict problem brewing in the north.

Ashipala said they did not hear about the deputy minister's visit to the area so that the farm owner could get a chance to talk to him about the five lions on his farm.

The Etosha fence is believed to be in a sorry state in that area, leading to the escape of wild animals.