Can Kruger’s lions be in Lydenburg?

The residents of Lydenburg and Burgersfort have reason to keep their eyes wide open at night – in the last month there have been several confirmed sightings of lions in the area, and there have been reports of cattle deaths near the Spekboom River. Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency big cat specialist Gerrie Camacho believes that the lions may originally have come from the Kruger National Park (KNP), having travelled along river courses or green corridors to get to Lydenburg.

Following up on a sighting of a lioness by Bertie Faul on August 1, 2006, about 24km out of Lydenburg, Camacho found a “beautiful drainage line and little footpaths” and assumes the lion is using these to move about.

About four weeks ago there was a rash of lion sightings, and Camacho believes that there are possibly two lionesses in the area. Following up on the early sightings, Camacho says he saw tracks and confirmed it was lions, “but the area is very hostile and mountainous and tracking or driving around is extremely difficult.”

The sightings then died down for a time before the current sighting was relayed to the conservation authorities. Camacho is now waiting for more sightings to be reported. He hopes to try and catch the lion and take it to Skukuza for veterinary examination before the animal’s future is decided.