Lions believed to have strayed from the Northern Tuli Game Reserve in neighbouring Botswana have descended on Maramani village outside Beit Bridge, where they are reportedly killing livestock.

The area’s municipal councillor, Mr Luka Ndou, told Limpopo Mirror that Shashe and Limpopo were the worst affected villages, where 10 cattle have been killed by the predators so far.

“This is an issue of grave concern, particularly taking into account that local villagers rely on cattle farming for a living. We are appealing to the relevant authorities to address this problem as a matter of urgency,” he said.

Mr Morgan Muleya, one of the villagers, said that the lions had killed two heads of cattle, "while my neighbour lost two calves. What continues to worry us as villagers is that the relevant authorities were notified, but they are not doing anything to address the problem.”

Ndou also expressed concern over hyenas, which are reportedly terrorising villagers in the same area. He said villagers were losing an average of 20 livestock monthly to the hyenas. “They mainly target donkeys grazing at night, and every month we get reports of about 20 animals, especially donkeys, having been attacked by hyenas,” he said. He added that efforts were being made to engage a local safari operator to address the problem, which has dogged the villagers since last year.

The village head for Maramani, Mr John Maramani, said their records indicated that, so far, more than 100 donkeys had been killed.

Maramani village is situated at the confluence of the Limpopo and Tuli River. The Maramani ward in situated 120km west of Beit Bridge and the area lies along Zimbabwe’s borders with Botswana and South Africa. Due its proximity to the Greater Mapungubwe Trans-frontier Conservation Area, a vast safari land jointly shared by Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa, villagers have not been spared either by stray elephants which continue to destroy their crops.