A group of tourists in Kruger National Park in South Africa were lucky to see the remarkable moment yesterday (December 26) when a team of experts removed a wire snare from around the neck of a lioness.

"Boxing day in the Kruger National Park turned out to be quite an exciting experience for me and a group of local tourists during our morning safari," said the filmer.

"While watching the four lionesses we suddenly noticed that one lioness had a piece of wire around her neck. The sight of wire around any animal’s neck raises alarm bells," the filmer added.

"Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of people in rural areas bordering the huge protected area of the Kruger National Park suffered from extreme hunger and reverted to poaching, hoping to snare an antelope or anything edible. Unfortunately, many predators such as lion, leopard and hyena make use of the same game trails where snares have been set and we have seen an unfortunate explosion in snare related cases involving predators," the filmer added.

"The rescue team finally arrived and the vet got on the back of our vehicle and we slowly approached the lioness. The vet darted the lioness and it took around five minutes before the lioness was totally sedated. The wire was swiftly removed with a pair of pliers. After taking critical data and measurements, the lioness was injected with an antidote. It took another five minutes for the lioness to wake up. Looking fairly groggy, the lioness got up onto her wobbly legs to walk a short distance before lying down again. We decided to take off and leave her in peace to recover," the filmer added

Boxing day in the Kruger National Park turned out to be quite an exciting experience for me and a group of local tourists during our morning safari. During the early hours of the morning, we came across four lionesses, sleeping next to the road. While watching the four lionesses we suddenly noticed that one lioness had a piece of wire around her neck. The sight of wire around any animal’s neck raises alarm bells.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of people in rural areas bordering the huge protected area of the Kruger National Park suffered from extreme hunger. Driven by hunger, people reverted to poaching, hoping to snare an antelope or anything edible. Unfortunately, many predators such as lion, leopard and hyena make use of the same game trails where snares have been set and we have literally seen an unfortunate explosion in snare related cases involving predators.
We immediately reported our unfortunate find of the wire stuck around the lioness’s neck. The lioness also looked in terrible condition, indicating she had a hard time eating with the wire stuck around her neck. Due to the remoteness of the location, the Park authorities confirmed that a rescue team with a vet will be deployed who will take around three hours to reach us. We had no other choice but to sit and watch the lioness carefully while waiting for help to arrive.
The rescue team finally arrived. The vet got on the back of our vehicle and we slowly approached the lioness. The vet darted the lioness and it took around five minutes before the lioness was totally sedated. The other two vehicles had to push off the rest of the lionesses in the area so the vet could proceed with his job. The wire was swiftly removed with a pair of pliers. After taking critical data and measurements, the lioness was injected with an antidote. It took another five minutes for the lioness to wake up. Looking fairly groggy, the lioness got up onto her wobbly legs to walk a short distance before lying down again. We decided to take off and leave her in peace to recover. We left feeling truly satisfied and grateful by the whole experience, knowing that we contributed to potentially saving a lioness from a lot of pain and possible death. We are truly grateful for such dedicated people from the Park’s board, helping to save a wild animals life, no matter what day or time it is.