No stray lion in Kwekwe, Gweru – Zimparks

KWEKWE – Residents in Kwekwe should not panic as there is no lion that escaped from Eye of the Wild, a sanctuary on the outskirts of Kwekwe or from the Antelope Park in Gweru.
There have been social media reports that residents in Kwekwe were now living in fear of a lion which allegedly escaped from Eye of the Wild, a sanctuary on the outskirts of Kwekwe.
Eye of the Wild is run by Allan Austine, who dismissed the media report, stating that his lion is caged at the sanctuary.
His statement was supported by Martin Chimwe, the Senior Wildlife Officer Zimparks, Kwekwe.
“The lion at Mr Austin’s place (Eye for the Wild) did not escape and is in its enclosure. We confirmed that yesterday morning after hearing the report. In any case, Mr Austin would have been the first one to report to us if the lion had escaped because all his animals in captivity are checked every morning,” he said
Chibwe added the report emanated from a Mr Phiri of Mbizo 16, who was working on his small field in Woodlands Farm (Firo), which is adjacent to Mr Austin’s place.
“The Zimparks team yesterday (Thursday) visited Mr Phiri and went to his field from where he reportedly heard the lion roar. He suspected that Austin’s lion might have escaped because according to him the roaring lion seemed closer to him than usual and was coming from a slightly different direction from Austin’s.
“We checked the area and no lion tracks were seen. We visited nearby resettlement area where Mr Phiri told us the lion was moving towards, but they confirmed not hearing anything that morning,” said Chibwe.
He Antelope Park in Gweru did not report any missing lion.
Chibwe urged reisdents not to panic but to continue with their daily activities as there was no stray lion in Kwekwe.
“…there is no stray lion ln Kwekwe. Residents should continue with their day-to-day activities without fear. No need to panic,” Zimparks Senior Wildlife Officer Kwekwe said.
Chibwe said Zimparks was on hand to assist people who hear or see anything unusual or suspicious related to wild animals.