Staff Reporter.
The search for a lion spotted near the Hennops trail earlier this week has moved back to the North West side of the provincial border, where it was first spotted after reports of new sightings in the area.
The big cat was first spotted by residents in the early hours of Wednesday morning near the R511, closer to the Centurion area; however, it is still unclear where the lion escaped from.
Arthur Crewe from Strategic Response Rescue Unit (SRU) says they conducted interviews with residents after receiving several leads on the lion’s possible whereabouts.
“We don’t have any photo material or anything to substantiate what the people are saying. The last few calls that we had is that the sighting is back in North West around the Necsa area. We have spoken to a few people that have seen it, but we cannot confirm it. It does open up our area into the North West,” he says.
Meanwhile, a resident in the area says they can hear the lion roaring at night.
“Yes, we heard it when it’s roaring up there, on that side of the hill, and we can hear the dogs barking.”
Crewe says it’s plausible that the lion could be in the said area because the initial report of a sighting was in the same vicinity.
The search for the lion has been resource intensive with the help of a helicopter, drones, and ground searchers enlisted.