FILABUSI – A community in Filabusi, Matabeleland South, is living in terror after a lion on the loose killed a donkey and an ox in two nights.
Children skipped school in heightened fear after the animal killed a donkey near Marvel in the small hours of Tuesday, and then the ox close to Pangani Training Centre off-ramp on the Filabusi-Silalatshani road hours later.
Parks rangers hunting the animal patrolled near Mahole Business Centre on Wednesday, led by the lion’s spoor, witnesses said. Their instruction is reportedly to shoot and kill the animal. They retired for the night without locating it.
Teachers at several local schools including Pansikwe Primary School – which is close to where the ox was killed; Msithi Primary School, St Matthew’s Primary School and Tshazi Secondary School reported that some parents had kept their children home in fear of the large cat, believed to have escaped from a game reserve in Shangani.
The lion’s spoor was first spotted by locals in the Amazon area, on the highway to Zvishavane, close to the Filabusi off-ramp on the road from Mbalabala.
Locals suspect the large cat is a lioness with at least one cub, based on the spoor observed at the scene of the dead ox. The ox had bite marks to its kneck and left front leg, although it was largely uneaten.
Pansikwe Primary School senior teacher Mehluli Jamela, in a recorded WhatsApp message to parents, warned them of the danger to pupils returning home.
“We’re at the scene where the lion was seen. The lion’s spoor is there,” Jamela said in the audio recording. “We’re currently looking at the ox that was attacked by the lion. We warn students to be careful especially those who walk back home by themselves with particular reference to those going to areas such as Marubamba.
“The spoor seems to be headed towards Tshazi Secondary School going on to the Zhulube area.”
ZimParks spokesman Tinashe Farawo said Wednesday rangers were still on the hunt for the lion.
“We can confirm that our officers are on the ground tracking the problem animal. We are encouraging communities to minimise movement at night, especially driving their cattle in the dark,” he said.
Shown a picture of the lion’s spoor, and smaller prints of what locals fear is a cub, Farawo suggested villagers were in fact looking at the prints of a jackal which was scavenging for spoils.
