KWS tracks stray lionesses back to Nairobi National Park

KWS offiers with locals at Piave, Njoro relocates a stray lioness back to Lake Nakuru National Park. [File, Standard]

Kenya Wildlife Service has returned two lionesses to Nairobi National Park less than 24 hours after the animals strayed into nearby settlements, using advanced tracking

technology to guide them back without darting or capture.

Rangers deployed the EarthRanger monitoring system overnight to track the lionesses in real time after the cats were spotted Wednesday in Sholinke Trading Area,

approximately 8.3 kilometres from the park boundary.

"The two lionesses earlier sighted outside Nairobi National Park have been successfully tracked using the EarthRanger system and safely guided back into the park by KWS

patrol teams during the night," KWS noted in a Thursday statement.

The Service issued a public safety warning on Wednesday after spotting the lionesses at coordinates 37 M 261961 UTM 9834651, deploying rangers to the area whilst veterinary

teams remained on standby.

KWS urged residents to keep children indoors and avoid the area where the animals had been seen, with public safety the top priority.

"The situation is fully under control, and the public may safely go on with their normal activities," noted KWS.

The Service credited residents for their cooperation, noting that timely reporting and calm conduct played a critical role in resolving the incident.

"We thank members of the public for their calmness, cooperation and timely reporting, which greatly supported the safe resolution of this incident and ensured the protection of

both people and wildlife," the statement added.

Nairobi National Park is one of the world's few wildlife protected areas located next to a major capital city, making occasional wildlife movement into surrounding communities a

persistent challenge.

Human encroachment, expanding infrastructure and natural animal behaviour can sometimes lead wildlife to stray beyond park boundaries, particularly in search of prey or new territory.