VIDEO: Kenyan authorities capture lion straying in residential area
Kenyan wildlife rangers and veterinarians control the crowd in Ongata Rongai, Nairobi. Reuters
A lion spread panic in a residential area in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on Wednesday after escaping from the national park, before the rescue teams succeeded in controlling it and returning it to its location.
Terrified residents spotted the young male animal in the residential area of Ongata Rongai in the south of the capital near the park and members of the Kenya Wildlife Authority, a government agency responsible for wildlife management, rushed to the scene, where a crowd gathered to watch the animal.
The authority said in a statement, "We succeeded in hitting the lion with an arrow, and his movement was frozen, and he was transferred safely to veterinary facilities for monitoring, and a collar was placed on him before releasing him into the garden."
Student Roslyn Wangari commented on the incident, saying, "This lion created a huge state of panic, as children were late for their schools and people failed to reach their places of work."
The garden is usually surrounded by electric fences but does not cover the entire area, allowing the animals to go outside to graze.
The park is only seven kilometers from the center of Nairobi, and it is not the first time that animals from the park have taken to the streets of the city of more than four million people.
In 2019, a lion killed a man after escaping, while in 2016, an animal was killed after escaping from a garden and injuring a person.
Environmental activists point out that lions used to live in this area before the population, so it cannot be said that they "escape" or "wander" in the city, because it is humans who invade their habitats.
