A lion picked up a beer bottle in its mouth in the Addo Elephant National Park last month.
And this action has horrified SanPark officials who have come out strongly against littering in national parks.
A visitor to the Addo Elephant National Park snapped some incredible shots of a lion with an environmental message during a recent visit in mid-February. Janine Snyman, a local Addo resident, was driving through the national park on a day visit with her husband when they noticed a young male lion lying in a grass patch close to the road.
Stopping to view the lion, she and her husband watched the young male get up and pick up an empty beer bottle that was lying in the grass in his mouth. The lion then sauntered over to a stone signpost, jumped on top of the signpost and lay down while watching another young male lion approach. The lion later dropped the beer bottle and walked off in the company of the second lion.
“This is a powerful message to visitors to our national park to take care that they do not litter,” said the Park’s Conservation Manager, John Adendorff. Adendorff said that the situation could have been much worse if the lion had broken the beer bottle and cut his mouth, depriving him of a means of feeding.
“The Park’s rules and regulations, including speed limits and bans on disturbing wildlife are in place to protect our wildlife as well as ensure the safety of visitors,” Adendorff added.
Adendorff also mentioned that some visitors disregarded Park rules by getting out of their vehicles inside the game area. People who wished to assist by reporting this bad behaviour could phone the manager on duty on 082 471 0267 or the Park’s reception on 042 2338619. Park staff could then react to the report while those transgressing were still in the Park.
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