The lion - Sylvester relocated

The lion – known as Sylvester – which escaped from Karoo National Park at the end of March, will be relocated to the Addo Elephant National Park, SANParks has announced.

Reports last month that the three-year-old male lion would be euthanised sparked a public outcry.

According to SANParks, the lion will be moved into a boma within an existing 200ha enclosure in the Kuzuko contractual section of the park, where he will be bonded with the two young females who are currently in the enclosure.

 
“This lion, at three years of age, is still young enough to bond with the two females and ultimately establish himself as the resident pride male,” said CEO of SANParks, Fundisile Mketeni.

The lions will then be released into the park to be free-ranging. The fence between Kuzuko and the neighbouring Darlington section of the park is due to be dropped soon, which will then provide the three lions with 60 000 ha over which to roam.
“There is always a risk that this lion may break out again but this will be mitigated to a large extent by reducing any potential conflict with other males, by placing him in a boma within the existing 200ha boma, and ultimately by establishing him as the dominant male,” said Mketeni.

He said the decision was in the best interests of the animal and conservation. “We would like to thank members of the public for their interest in this lion and their continued interest in conservation generally,” he said. “We attempted to respond to every message we received but eventually abandoned this due to the sheer number of messages received in the last two weeks.”