Residents of Dong Community in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State are now living in fear after a hyena escaped from the wildlife park.
According to reports, the hyena escaped from its confinement at the community park on Sunday, causing panic among residents of Dong, the neighbouring state, and the federal low-cost estates.
Confirming the incident in Jos, Mr. Chuwang Pwajok, the General Manager of the Plateau State Tourism Corporation, assured residents that they were actively tracking down the wild animal.
“I received a report yesterday of the escape of a hyena from its enclosure at the Jos Wild Life Park and immediately directed all our staff members, especially the park rangers and animal keepers on hand, to take an immediate step to locate the animal.
“The effort has been ongoing since yesterday all through today, and the report reaching me at the Jos Wildlife Unit has it clearly stated that the animal, the expectation at least, is that it will not wander off far from its abode because it hadn’t acclimatized to the surrounding environment, and all it knew is the Jos Wildlife Park.
“You know the park is quite a huge span of land, and all hands are on deck trying to locate the animal and lure it back into its enclosure.
“So, we are all trying our best to make sure that there’s no harm to the people within the park or even the animal. We sent out information to the public, informing them of what had happened.”
The general manager also dismissed insinuations that the hyena escaped from the park due to hunger.
He said, “I just want to use this opportunity to address some misconceptions concerning what might have led to the escape of the animal. I want to plead with the general public to resist the temptation of using social media to send out unverified information.
“There are insinuations in some quarters that it left its enclosure due to hunger, which is far from the truth.
“If anything, those who visited the park some months back and have equally gone back recently will attest that all our animals are looking healthier than they were before because Governor Caleb Mutfwang has graciously approved an upward review for the animals at the Jos Wildlife Park.
“The resources for feeding these animals have consistently been released to this corporation.
“And one of the major priority areas for the management team of the Plateau Tourism Corporation has remained the Jos Wildlife Park. Though several challenges bedevil the park due to long years of neglect, these challenges are disappearing.
“Some of the cages are old, and we have consistently helped to manage this situation. I am very happy to report that very active measures are in place, and very soon all the cages will be rehabilitated and modernised, and people will see the new Jos Wildlife Park, which will give them a rewarding game-viewing experience.
“The rumour that the escape is due to hunger is therefore far from the truth.
Persecondnews recalls that in 2015, a lion escaped from its cage in the park and was shot dead by security operatives in their bid to apprehend the wild animal.
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