The Kenya Wildlife Society has dispatched a special team to hunt down a lioness spotted in a residential area in Ongata Rongai's Nazarene area.
KWS spokesman Paul Jinaro said in a statement the Human-Wildlife Conflict (HWC) team is pursuing the dangerous big cat which was captured on CCTV scaling a perimeter wall in a private residence before making off with a pedigree dog.
He said the incident happened on Wednesday morning. The CCTV footage was circulated widely on social media.
Jinaro, however, said the lioness was not in the vicinity of the incident but it's suspected that she may have had cubs hidden in a different location.
"KWS is reassuring the area residents that the HWC team is still patrolling the locality, with backup from the more seasoned Problem Animal Management Unit (PAMU)," he said.
The KWS spokesman said that during heavy rains, herbivores migrate through the unfenced southern part of Nairobi National Park.
He said the animals migrate towards human settlements like Rongai, Kitengela, Athi-Kapiti, and the larger Kajiado and its environs.
This is due to waterlogged grounds and overly-long grass which provide hideouts for predators, Jinaro explained.
He added that carnivores also migrate in pursuit of the herbivores, which are the primary food source for lions, leopards and hyenas.
"This movement of carnivores leads to unfortunate incidents such as the regrettable predation on domestic dogs as seen on the CCTV footage," he said.
According to KWS, over 80 per cent of the perimeter of Nairobi National Park is fenced, therefore, much of Nairobi is safe from wildlife raids.
The Service said the ongoing rains have caused significant wildlife displacement leading to the risk of unexpected encounters in community wildlife-prone areas.
Jinaro advised residents of areas that are prone to wildlife dispersals to exercise caution, especially at night.
He further appealed to Kenyans to be wary of misinformation, or ‘fake news,’ such as that observed in recent incidents of lions allegedly being sighted near the Nairobi Women’s Prison along Lang’ata Road.
Jinaro said that teams were urgently dispatched to the areas, and patrolled overnight, but the reports turned out to be false.
KWS called on Kenyans to immediately and in detail, report HWC incidents to their 24/7 toll-free line 0800 597 000.
