Tension as a Lioness is Spotted Roaming in Rongai, KWS Assures Safety
By Shadrack Nyakoe
There’s a heightened tension in Ongata Rongai town, Kajiado county after a lioness was seen roaming around, evident by a CCTV footage.
The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has cautioned residents of the area to stay vigilant at night.
In a press release, the KWS states that they have verified the CCTV footage of a lioness scaling the perimeter wall of a private property and making off with a pedigree dog.
KWS reassured the area residents that the Human-Wildlife Conflict (HWC) team is still patrolling the locality, with backup from the more seasoned Problem Animal Management Unit (PAMU).
“The KWS alerting the public that, during heavy rains such as those witnessed in Nairobi over the past few months, herbivores migrate through the unfenced southern part of Nairobi National Park, towards human settlements like Rongai, Kitengela, Athi-Kapiti, and the larger Kajiado and its environs, due to waterlogged grounds and overly-long grass which provide hideouts for predators.
Consequently, carnivores also migrate in pursuit of the herbivores, which are the primary food source for lions, leopards and hyenas. This movement of carnivores leads to unfortunate incidents such as the regrettable predation on domestic dogs as seen on the CCTV footage,” read the media release.
The service noted that much of the city of Nairobi is safe from wildlife raids as 80% of national park is fenced.
“The ongoing rains have caused significant wildlife displacement leading to the risk of unexpected encounters in community wildlife prone areas. KWS advises residents of areas that are prone to these wildlife dispersals to exercise caution especially at night.
The Service is also appealing to the public to be wary of misinformation, or ‘fake news’, such as that observed in recent incidents of lions allegedly being sighted near the Nairobi Women’s Prison along Lang’ata Road, PAMU teams were urgently dispatched to the areas, patrolled overnight, but the reports turned out to be false,” stated the KWS.
