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| #SaveSylvester plea over South African escaped lion | #SaveSylvester plea over South African escaped lion |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Animal rights campaigners are urging a South African game park to reverse its decision to put down a lion who escaped on Sunday. | Animal rights campaigners are urging a South African game park to reverse its decision to put down a lion who escaped on Sunday. |
| The lion, called Sylvester, crawled under an electric fence after heavy rains dislodged earth, according to a Karoo National Park spokeswoman. | The lion, called Sylvester, crawled under an electric fence after heavy rains dislodged earth, according to a Karoo National Park spokeswoman. |
| The park authorities intend to use a helicopter to find the lion. | The park authorities intend to use a helicopter to find the lion. |
| He was fitted with a tracking collar after he was on the loose for three weeks last year. | He was fitted with a tracking collar after he was on the loose for three weeks last year. |
| More on this and other African news stories | More on this and other African news stories |
| The park authorities said on Wednesday that they were still considering five options, only one of which was to kill the lion. | |
| Other options were to bring the lion back to the park and improve the fencing. | |
| They said the previous decision to kill Sylvester had been made prematurely. | |
| On Tuesday night South Africa National Parks tweeted that it was a difficult decision to put down the lion once they find him. | |
| The hashtag #SaveSylvester has been trending in South Africa since Wednesday morning. | |
| Last June, Sylvester went on a sheep-killing spree, wandering 300km (180 miles) before he was found taking a nap by rangers and airlifted from the Nuweveld Mountains in Western Cape. | Last June, Sylvester went on a sheep-killing spree, wandering 300km (180 miles) before he was found taking a nap by rangers and airlifted from the Nuweveld Mountains in Western Cape. |
| On his current escape, he has already travelled at least 20km (12 miles) and killed a cow, according to AFP news agency. | On his current escape, he has already travelled at least 20km (12 miles) and killed a cow, according to AFP news agency. |
| Meanwhile in Kenya, another lion was shot dead by a ranger on Wednesday after he escaped from a park in Nairobi. | Meanwhile in Kenya, another lion was shot dead by a ranger on Wednesday after he escaped from a park in Nairobi. |
| Several lions have escaped from the park in recent weeks. | Several lions have escaped from the park in recent weeks. |