By Elmon Tshikhudo and Maanda Bele
Communities living on the outskirts of Musina are fearful of venturing outside their homes, because they believe a pride of lions is roaming the area. Whether lions are really lurking in the bushes is difficult to say, but the tension only increased when people started circulating false news about lion attacks in other parts of the region.
Late in December last year, a lion was spotted on the R572 road, next to the Mapungubwe National Park. This lion had escaped through a hole in the fence. A video distributed on social media on 2 January shows how park rangers used their vehicles to guide the male lion back to the "other side" of the fence.
Mapungubwe, however, is some 70 kilometres to the west of Musina. That lions from this park would have ventured so far from the area that they are accustomed to is unlikely.
Last Wednesday (18th), residents from the Antonvilla township near Musina reported that four lions had been spotted in the bushes. The tracks of a lion were also allegedly spotted near the Musina Mberegeni Cemetery earlier this week. This caused widespread panic and the authorities were called in to investigate. Residents believed that the lions had crossed the border and come from Zimbabwe.
Community leader Mr Oupa Tshitaka said that lions had actually been seen in the area. "Their footprints were first spotted in December, so we called the environment people to come and investigate, but the lions were not found. On Monday (23 January), another lion was spotted at the Musina cemetery, but it disappeared and was not caught. We are now living in fear. Livestock farmers are losing as we learnt that goats, belonging to a local farmer, were attacked. Residents can no longer go into the bush to fetch firewood and those who mine sand there have stopped out of fear," he said.
Tshitaka admitted that the lions could not be found. "They are using bakkies, which is of no help. The search needs a helicopter, so that they can spot them from the air. We will continue living in fear as long as the lions are still roaming freely," he said.
The Musina Municipality issued a provisional warning to people who visit the cemetery to be careful and to confine themselves to the fenced-off area when burying their loved ones.
Earlier this week, a voice note was circulated widely on social media, in which a lady pleads for assistance after spotting the lion. The animal was allegedly spotted near the Musina spirulina plant. What was determined later was that she had seen a big dog and not a lion. This was confirmed by the municipality's spokesperson, Mr Wilson Dzebu. "It is very disturbing and misleading," he said.
The Limpopo Economic Development Environment and Tourism spokesperson Mr Zaid Kalla confirmed that they had received reports about roaming lions and that the animals had not been found yet. "As soon as we received the complaint, we immediately dispatched our officials, who have searched everywhere, but no lions were located," he said.
To add to the tension, a fake message started to do the rounds last Thursday of a lion attack at Ha-Lambani village. Ha-Lambani village is some 160 kilometres from Musina, not far from the Kruger National Park's Punda Maria gate.
On the Facebook page (Mafhungo A Shango kha Bodo ya Maswa Maswa ya vhukuma), a warning is issued to people to stay indoors. The post reads (translated from Tshivenda to English):
Urgent news
We have just received the sad news that 8 lions escaped from the Kruger National Park this afternoon. A lion killed an unknown Tsonga man on a bicycle at Ha-Lambani near the Mavhoini church. It is alleged that the lion attacked him as he was busy riding his bicycle and he started screaming until one of the community members came with a gun and shot the lion. Sadly, the man died at the scene.
The post then goes into more detail as to when the incident occurred and where the other lions had fled to. It even urges people to phone people in villages close to Ha-Lambani and warn them about the imminent danger. The police are blamed for not responding. "We are still following this story," the author states.
To try and add authenticity to the story, a picture was posted of a man lying on the ground next to his bicycle with a lion next to him. This fake news story was shared more than 866 times, with 658 reactions and 523 comments, and sparked unnecessary terror among local communities.
A reverse-image search on Google shows that the picture used is not a new image. It features very often on "clickbait" sites, where unsuspecting (and gullible) readers are enticed to click on a sensational article.
Several community leaders have warned against the dangers of spreading such false news. They point out that it can traumatise people and will also cause the unnecessary use of government resources to try and track down fictitious dangerous animals.
Chief Patrick Lambani of Ha-Lambani village said earlier this week that the rumours about a pride of lions that had escaped from the Kruger National Park (KNP) and attacked a Tsonga man in his village were nothing but fake news and people must stop spreading these stories immediately.
According to Chief Lambani, his village is surrounded by wild animals from the KNP and Makuya Park. "We are used to wild animals like elephants, buffalo and other wild animals, but not lions. There are no lions here. People just love spreading lies about my village. This story is false," he said, clearly upset about the rumours.