Kenyan rangers shoot stray lion dead

A lion was on Wednesday shot dead after it attacked and injured a man on the outskirts of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

The lion, which strayed from the Nairobi National Park on Tuesday night, was reportedly in the company of its brothers.

Rangers from the Kenya Wildlife Service shot the lion because they feared that more people could be hurt as a mob had gathered around the animal.

Paul Udoto, from Kenya’s wildlife service, said the animal was killed by wildlife officials after it had injured a man in the Kajiado district – some 35 miles from the Kenyan capital.

“It had injured somebody … there was a crowd that had formed around it, so it was practically impossible to capture it the way we planned to,” he added.

A mobile phone footage of the incident showed the lion trying to attack a man and some residents perched on the back of trucks.

A police spokesman David Kipkemei said the milling crowd caused the animal to become “wild” but did not expect it to be killed.

“I expected KWS to disable the animal but not to kill the animal.”

This was the third lion in recent weeks to have strayed from the Nairobi National Park.

No injuries were reported in the first incident on February 19, but one man was mauled by the second lion which strayed on March 18.

The wildlife service was able to recapture the animals on those occasions and returned them to protected areas.

The Nairobi National Park lies on the city limits, providing visitors a view of lions, rhinos, giraffes, zebras and other wildlife against a backdrop of high-rise buildings.

Lions are occasionally spotted in the city close to the park after they find a way through fences that protect the built-up areas near the reserve.

Reuters