Tourist's Save a Lion from Poachers Trap

Tourists from South Africa's Kruger National Park came across a lion, who appeared emaciated and close to death with a poachers noose wrapped around his neck. The tourists said that "Social media was crucial to this operation"

Even though a tourist reported the Lion to officials on Saturday, social media played a crucial role to finding him. Because of the pictures people were posting, they were able to asses the condition he was in to vets, and were able to track him easier. Searchers looked everywhere on Sunday, but, could not find him. On Monday the lion had slipped back into the parks bushes. On, Tuesday he was spotted by a helicopter while he was walking through an infested crocodile river and was shot with a tranquilizer dart. The vets found that the wounds appeared much worse then they actually were. The skin was broken but, the tissue underneath was still intact. They were able to remove the noose, a trap used by poachers which gets tighter as its pulled. Vets said the lion was very lucky to have gotten away, because usually the more the animal struggles, the tighter it gets.

Snares like these continue to be a major problem at the park. Along with the poachers who create them. A researcher, Phillips claimed "It is totally indiscriminate and brutal way of killing." The size of the park is roughly a 870 mile range covered by about 700 rangers daily. These poachers are becoming more focused on anti-poaching operations. The efforts mainly focus on protecting the parks high rhino population. It is a problem park rangers try to minimize day by day.