Wildlife rangers shoot dead lion to stop it attacking mob after it strays into city

Wildlife rangers shot dead a stray male lion in the outskirts of Nairobi after it attacked and injured a motorcycle taxi rider. The rangers said they had to shoot the animal to prevent further injuries after a mob gathered around it. “The mob had formed and in the process somebody got injured, and by the time the veterinary and security teams got to the ground it was already beyond salvation,” Paul Udoto, communications manager for the Kenya Wildlife Service said. “With that commotion we risked more injuries or even possible deaths.”

It had injured somebody. There was a crowd that had formed around it, so it was practically impossible to capture it the way we planned to

Paul Udoto, communications manager for the Kenya Wildlife Service

The lion was said to have become agitated as drivers hooted and shouted it as it roamed along the road. Images on social media showed it walking in a grassy area next to the fence of the national park. Others showed it body lying beside the road where it had been felled. Some reports suggested rangers were forced to shoot it because they had run out of tranquilizers. The lion was the third in recent weeks to stray from Nairobi National Park on the outskirts of the capital. No injuries were reported in the first case on February 19 but one man was attacked in the second, on March 18.

Nairobi National Park thought KWS stood for Kenya Wildlife service not KILLING WILDLIFE SERVICE.

Twitter user Anthony Mshedu

nairobi lion