For the past couple of years, Kenya’s capital Nairobi recorded cases of stray lions marauding neighborhoods bordering Nairobi National Park.
On Wednesday, July 28, Ongata Rongai residents woke up to the shock of a marauding lioness. She strayed from the Nairobi National Park. Rongai borders the vast park, which spreads from Lang’ata to Kajiado and Machakos.
Stray Lions
In her zeal to tour ‘foreign’ land entirely different from the vast grassland she is used to, the lioness found herself in a residential area. She strolled in an alley between two apartment blocks when word went out.
Curious residents quickly milled around the scene near Tuskys to catch a glimpse of the big cat. But, Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) officers arrived in the nick of time to avert an eventual fatal ending.
Commotion and unusual noise trigger anger in lions, and what follows is an attack.
KWS team comprising rangers and vets were at the scene for rescue.
“This morning, a sub-adult male lion was spotted stuck between a concrete wall and iron sheets in Ongata Rongai area, Kajiado County. KWS was alerted by members of the public and promptly dispatched rangers & the veterinary team to the scene,” a statement by KWS reads.
A stray lion captured by KWS team in Rongai. [Photo: KWS]
“The lion was successfully darted, immobilized, and safely transferred to the veterinary facility for observation & collaring before being released back to the park,” KWS added.
Wild animals are immobilized for safety reasons. As you know, they are aggressive.
But, this was not the first case of a marauding sending panic and dear among residents. In December 2019, an employee in one of the farms in Kajiado – Rongai specifically – went missing.
His employer filed a missing person case and was shocked beyond words when he found a lion feasting on the employee. His body was dragged near the fence where the lion ate him up unbothered by the man who frantically tried to scare it. A sad ending!
Nairobi National Park
In 2016, three lions strayed from Nairobi National Park and moved to a residential area for days. In that month alone, the lions wandered from the park four times. In February, a lioness and her cubs left the park and took a trip to the concrete jungles adjacent to the Nairobi National Park.
They became a sensation for motorists who photographed them and sent the photos to social media platforms. But there was panic that they would end up killing people.
And it ended up in a tragedy after one black-maned lion attacked a middle-aged man one early morning. He was on his way to work on foot, oblivious of the danger ahead. Then the dark lion appeared fast, and in a moment of panic, he was frozen.
He is lucky to be alive after the lion’s claw push that landed him on a ditch. It was angry due to constant honking by motorists. The victim was lucky that he escaped with a dislocated arm.
KWS could not explain how or why there were increased cases of stray lions roaming the city.
Visit Nairobi National Park
Nairobi National Park is iconic and was established in 1946, and it is the only national park located in a city.
It covers an average area of 117.21 square kilometers. The park has a vast open grassland with plains, and at the back of it, all are the city’s skyscrapers. Scattered acacia bushes phenomenally known as home to wild animals dot the park.
The park offers a dose of life in the wild in one of the most unexpected places. It hosts the big five members; lions, buffalos, leopards, and the black rhino. Giraffes, hyenas, and Zebras dot every corner of this expansive park at the heart of Kenya’s capital.
American singer Ashanti having a moment of a lifetime at the Nairobi National Park. [Photo by hhucit_/IG]
American RnB queen Ashanti is one of the celebrities who visited the park in December 2020. She was in Kenya for a vacation.
