Kenya Wildlife Service says stray lion returned safely to park

Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said on Thursday a lion which strayed from the Nairobi National Park early this week returned to the park unharmed on Tuesday night.

KWS spokesman Paul Gathitu confirmed that the lion which had strayed from the park on Monday night and later spotted around Karen Hardy residential estate early on Tuesday returned to the park on the same night.

"The lion returned to the park safely on Tuesday night through a fence which had been knocked down by some motorists. Our team was later dispatched and confirmed that the lion was unharmed," Gathitu told Xinhua by telephone.

He said since the incidence on Tuesday, the wildlife agency has been receiving numerous calls from curious Kenyans who claim to have seen some lions roaming in some neighborhoods near the park.

"We have been receiving numerous calls from Kenyans, claiming to have spotted some lions around Nairobi estates. But our teams have not found any stray lion," Gathitu said.

The KWS spokesman has, however, urged the public to remain vigilant and avoid provoking the wild animals in case they come into contact with them.

The incidents of lion being spotted roaming in the city have disrupted movements of people in those areas with most residents staying indoors for fear of being mauled by the lions.

In the space of two months, there have been at least three confirmed cases of lions coming into contact with people in Nairobi and the surrounding areas.

In early February, several lions strayed from the park at night and wandered into the Lang'ata suburb.

In the middle of last month a 63-year-old man was almost killed by a lion as he walked to work along the Nairobi-Mombasa Road. The last incident left a motorcyclist badly injured. Enditem